Youth Advocacy Organizations Partner To Educate Children & Their Families on New State Laws Affecting Youth 

(New Orleans, LA – August 14, 2024) 

Over the course of ten days, February’s special session on crime and public safety saw state legislators return to a ‘tough-on-crime’ mentality that will only further cement Louisiana as the most incarcerated state in the country. Two of the policies passed during that time were the historic repeal of Raise the Age legislation – making Louisiana the first state in decades 

to criminally prosecute 17-year-olds as adults and the Truth & Transparency Bill, which erodes the the confidentiality of juvenile records creating unnecessary barriers to housing, education and employment opportunities for youth – regardless of their proven guilt or innocence – as they transition into adults. 

Unlike legislative session recaps of the past, on Wednesday, August 28th, from 5:30 – 7PM, youth-serving orgs, the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights and Daughters Beyond Incarceration adopt a different approach by providing a youth justice town hall. During this event, the city’s youth as well as their parents/caretakers have the opportunity to become further informed and field questions on the aforementioned laws that will negatively impact and affect them. 

An important voice missing from the ongoing community dialogue about public safety is that of our children. Keeping this in mind, attendees will hear from several of New Orleans’ youth in addition to Senator Royce Duplessis and former Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Arthur Hunter during an informative panel on these youth laws. For any unanswered questions, communication cards that both clearly and concisely outline these policies will also be available in addition to dinner being provided. 

For more information, please contact Renard Bridgewater at comms@lakidsrights.org / 504-975-5861 or Casey Ferrand at McGeeca@opso.us / 504-202-9259.

The Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights (LCCR) is a nonprofit law office that stands with kids in the justice system no matter what. We provide holistic legal defense (a lawyer, social worker, investigator, and youth advocate) to address children’s needs both inside and outside the courtroom and tackle the systemic issues that criminalize mostly poor, Black youth in the first place. Our goal is to keep kids out of a harmful system so that they can thrive where they belong — at home, at school, and in our communities. LCCR envisions a Louisiana where every child, no matter their race or class, is free to be a kid and supported in becoming a healthy adult.

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Daughters Beyond Incarceration (DBI) is a powerful state-wide 501c3 nonprofit that provides a safe space for as well as empowers girls between the ages of 8-18 years old who are directly impacted by parental incarceration. We are committed to breaking down barriers and cultivating a brighter future for these young Black girls, who are navigating parental incarceration to become narrative, policy and practice changemakers within our city, state and nation.