We are changemakers. We are bold innovators.
We are experts in policy, research, and practice.
Agenda for Children works to improve a child’s well-being by supporting, informing and empowering the adults who can impact their lives, including teachers, parents, policymakers and donors.
We connect adults to resources, ideas, services, and networks that can help their efforts to help children thrive, even in the face of limited resources.
We believe all children should have the opportunity to thrive, be successful and pursue their dreams and that we can partner with families to achieve this.
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Founder, Agenda for Children
Judy Watts was a fierce child advocate who co-founded Agenda for Children to make Louisiana a state where all children can thrive. She was a commited anti-racist who worked closely with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. Under her leadership, Agenda made major impacts on early care and education, child welfare, juvenile justice and children’s health care access.
Our Mission
Agenda for Children was founded to make Louisiana a state in which all children can thrive, by ensuring that the basic needs of children and families are met, that our children are nurtured and well taught, beginning in the early years and continuing through adolescence; that they are protected from harm; and by acting in ways that combat racism and other forms of oppression.
What We Do
Since 1984, Agenda for Children has served as Louisiana’s statewide child advocacy organization, as well as our region’s leading support organization for early childhood education (children ages 0-8). We work to inform public conversations on children, advocate for better policies that impact children and families, increase access to high quality early care and education, improve the quality of those experiences, and connect people to community resources. Specifically, our work improves child well-being by empowering the adults who have the greatest impact on children’s lives.
We Empower Educators
We improve the quality of early childhood education professionals, including Early Learning Center Directors and Teachers, and the system leaders who support them through high quality professional development offerings.
We raise funds for classroom and center improvements and distribute them through our Early Childhood Opportunity Fund (ECHO), a microgrant program for early learning centers.
We operate as the Lead Agency for Orleans Parish, operating the New Orleans Early Education Network to help coordinate state efforts for over 155 Type III publicly funded early learning centers and schools in New Orleans.
We Empower Families
We educate and support families who have young children about the importance of early childhood education and its critical impact on kindergarten readiness and life outcomes.
We help families understand their child care options, make referrals, and help educate them about how they can be their child’s first early learning teacher.
We directly operate a publicly funded program in partnership with the New Orleans Mayor’s Office and the Louisiana Department of Education, the NOEEN City Seats program, which provides free high-quality early care and education to almost 800 children ages 0-3 in Orleans Parish.
We Empower Policymakers
We collect, analyze, and share unbiased data to help local, state, and national policymakers understand the importance of early childhood programming and to advocate for policies that improve access to high quality early learning.
We ensure decision makers understand how to best meet the needs of children and families through reports, policy briefs and direct advocacy.
Our annual KIDS COUNT Data Book is seminal reading for policymakers statewide.