This report contains data and information on the School-Based Health Centers affiliated with the Office of Public Health Adolescent School Health Initiative for the 2020-21 school year.

This report provides information on initiatives authorized by the Commission that focus on reducing maternal and infant deaths, including the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative (LaPQC) and the Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review (PAMR). Legislative and policy priorities considered by the Commission are also identified in the report. One highlight is that legislation was passed in 2019 that authorizes the Louisiana Department of Health to promulgate and publish rules and regulations for the licensing of free-standing birth centers.

There hasn’t been much research on the benefits of fathers to the family unit. This literature shares (1) the benefits of an engaged father to the father, child, and mother (2) what fathers are saying and (3) shares national and Louisiana specific initiatives that support fathers.

The 2020 Early Childhood Risk and Reach report describes five categories of health challenges
facing Louisiana kids and families: Economic Stability; Healthcare Access & Quality; Social & Family Context; Education Access & Quality; and Neighborhood & Built Environment. The report also describes the reach of key publicly-funded programs that address these risks and challenges. Data on program reach are overlaid onto maps of overall risk, which helps to illustrate which parishes may require additional services and investments to support children’s health and well-being.

Highlights include:

• 73,228 children live in the 32 parishes that are classified as either Moderate-
  High or High Risk, representing approximately 23.8% of all children under age 5 in Louisiana.
• Louisiana has leveraged both state and federal funds to provide access to eight key programs and
  services for young children: Medicaid; WIC; EarlySteps; Maternal Infant and Early Childhood
  Home Visiting (MIECHV); Early Head Start; Head Start; high-quality, publicly funded child
  care for children ages 0-3, and high-quality, publicly funded pre-K for children age 4.
• Black children face more disadvantages on average than White children, which is a result of centuries of structural racism.

The 2021 Early Childhood Risk and Reach in Louisiana report is a tool designed to be used by all early childhood stakeholders, governmental and nongovernmental, to better inform policy and funding decisions that impact the distribution of critical resources.

Download the full report here.

Louisiana Birth Defects Monitoring Network (LBDMN) is responsible for the surveillance of birth defects in Louisiana’s children. This report fulfills the annual legislative reporting requirement and details data findings and performance measure assessments for our stakeholders.

Audience: Clinicians, data seekers, public health agencies/organizations, community partners, policymakers