Brighter Futures: Reducing Harm & Improving Outcomes for Girls in Louisiana's Juvenile Justice System

The Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights (LCCR), which serves as New Orleans’ juvenile public defender and provides social work support to the East Baton Rouge Office of the Public Defender-Juvenile Section (OPDBR), will enhance the specialized services it provides to system-involved girls through its successful Brighter Futures program. It will achieve this by 1) adding a reentry component to provide planning and support for incarcerated girls returning to their communities, 2) adding a civil legal component to help system-involved girls better navigate Louisiana’s complex education, housing, and public benefits systems, and 3) training program staff on how to better earn the trust and meet the needs of the especially vulnerable population of girls who have been sex trafficked. In addition to these enhancements, funding will also partially support the staff providing the program’s direct services.