POLICY TABLES
In 2004, following FFLIC’s successful campaign to close one of the nations’ most notorious youth prisons, Tallulah Correctional Center for Youth, parents met to set long-term goals for FFLIC’s work. They determined it was essential to have seats at policymaking tables and have a voice in decisions being made about their lives. They identified key tables, and in the years following, FFLIC fought hard to infiltrate these powerful decision-making bodies and gain seats. One of FFLIC’s mottos is “We are not just at the table, we are the table,” which expresses the idea that families and youth are at the center of this work and these decisions.
FFLIC’s expertise utilizes an insider/outsider strategy informed by deep partnerships in education and youth justice. This lens helps identify key vulnerabilities in the systems which can be leveraged for change and offers valuable insight for organizing tactics on the ground. This multi-pronged strategy creates pressure at the top, bottom, and the middle of systems to fight for change at all levels of bureaucracy.
Through greater collaboration, deeper understanding of the impacts on children’s lives, and amplifying the power of impacted youth themselves, FFLIC is building stronger relationships and alignment with systems stakeholders and other allies for the betterment of all youth and families in Louisiana.
FFLIC currently hold seats at the following government tables:
- Juvenile Justice Reform Act Implementation Commission (JJRAIC)
- Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board (CCAB) (Family Stability Subcommittee)
- Children and Youth Planning Boards (CYPBs) (See Louisiana Models for Change CYPB Toolkit)
- Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice (Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI)
- Louisiana’s Governor’s Advisory Council of the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act (OJJDP Advisory Board)
- Advisory Council on Student Behavior and Discipline (ACSBD)
Juvenile Justice Reform Act Implementation Commission (JJRAIC)
The Juvenile Justice Reform Act Implementation Commission (JJRAIC) was established under Act 1225 of 2003 (Act 1225) which passed in response to demands for reform by Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) and other advocates including the late Pascal F. Calogero, Jr. Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Louisiana. The need for reform was spurred by horrific stories of abuse in youth prisons in Louisiana, including broken bones, black eyes, sexual assault, and sadly, a child dying at the hands of a guard.
Act 1225 was a deafening call to action to fix our broken youth justice system, a critical piece of legislation put in place to resolve historical and systemic injustice and end abuses of youth in the justice system in Louisiana. The JJRAIC is a vital part of this ongoing work. Though the JJRAIC was not operational for several years, it began to meet again in 2021 and work in subcommittees to provide oversight to carry out the law that is supposed to reform the system, coordinate services, and protect our children. An appointed representative of FFLIC has a permanent seat as Vice Chair in accordance with law (Act 28 of 2020). See the full one-pager here.
Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board
The Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board provides information and recommendations from the perspective of advocacy groups, service providers and parents on policies and programs relating to Louisiana children. They 1) advise and assist the Children’s Cabinet, 2) coordinate agency resources and provide linkages among agencies that serve children and families and 3) develop policy, program and budget recommendations to address child and family issues. The Children’s Cabinet is part of the Governor’s office and is responsible for the funds, programs, and services at the state and local level, related to children and their families.
Children and Youth Planning Boards (CYPBS)
In 2004, lawmakers passed Act 555 as a continuation of the work of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2003, which was passed to transform Louisiana’s system into a model of holistic support for children and move away from its ineffective punitive approach. Act 555 was about localizing the effort by creating in each judicial district a Children and Youth Planning Board (CYPB) that would work in concert with the state-level Children’s Cabinet, which is under the Governor’s office. The CYPBs were to review, coordinate, prioritize, and measure all available local services and programs that address the needs of children and youth. It would “assist in the development, implementation, and operation of services which encourage positive development, diversion of children and youth from the criminal justice and the foster care system, reduction in the commitments of youth to state institutions,” and provide community response to youth criminal involvement. The CYPBs would report to the Children’s Cabinet and in turn the Children’s Cabinet would lead the creation of CYPBs, provide them with necessary technical assistance, and hold them accountable. The work also was supposed to be data-driven to get the most from available resources. (RS 46:1941.2) See the full one-pager here.
Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice (Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI)
The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) is a nationally known project developed by The Annie E. Casey Foundation (Casey Foundation) in 1992. The JDAI is a comprehensive system reform model that has shown to safely reduce reliance on secure detention. THe Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration on Criminal Justice (LCLE) currently oversees the JDAI effort within the state.
Governor’s Advisory Council of the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act
The purpose of the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act Advisory Board is to “encourage and assist the state, units of local government and private non-profit agencies in the comprehensive improvement of the juvenile justice system in the State of Louisiana; to assist in the establishment of juvenile justice policy by providing advice and counsel to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, Louisiana Legislature, and the Governor of Louisiana on ways and means to facilitate greater juvenile justice system effectiveness; and to carry out the requirements according to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.”
Advisory Council on Student Behavior and Discipline
The Louisiana Advisory Council on Student Behavior & Discipline (ACSBD) was created by Act 522 of 2016. The purpose of the ACSBD is “to provide advice and guidance to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) regarding best practices in providing support to public school governing authorities in the adoption and implementation of each school’s master plan for student behavior and discipline.”
In the 2025 legislative session, House Bill 240 was introduced, which included a provision to abolish the ACSBD. The bill was amended to remove the measure to terminate the advisory council, and the final version that passed focused on teacher training and student discipline. Despite the initial proposal to disband it, the advisory council is currently still established in state law.
See the full one-pager.