[StBernard] National foundations support Louisianas children

[Westley Annis]

National Foundations Support Louisiana's Children 

BATON ROUGE - Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced the
creation of a partnership to assist with the redesign of Louisiana's
behavioral services for children, families and young adults.

The partnership is comprised of the Governor's Office, the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the
Technical Assistance Collaborative Inc. (TAC) and the Annie E. Casey
Foundation. In making the announcement at a meeting of the Children's
Cabinet, Governor Blanco said that the Children's Cabinet will take the lead
in working with a broad range of state agencies and other stakeholders to
ensure than an "effective, accessible system of care" can be designed and
sustained. 

"The devastation that resulted from the hurricanes had a huge impact on our
state's children. This partnership will help us to prioritize efforts in
helping them heal and receive the services they need as we restore so many
vital areas," Gover! nor Blanco said.

Prior to the hurricanes, Governor Blanco launched an initiative to
strengthen children's behavioral health. This new partnership will enable
Louisiana to move ahead with its long-range system improvement while the
state grapples with the urgent demands of post hurricane rebuilding. 

The Governor's focus of improving services to Louisiana's children and
families -- especially those with emotional or other behavioral health
disorders - will be at the center of the partnership's goals to:

- Improve coordination of services to children, families and young adults,
particularly those with mental health and substance use conditions.
- Improve efficiencies in the expenditure of scarce resources.
- Increase the effectiveness of community services and reduce the use of
restrictive out-of-home placements.
- Assist young people in transition to adult services.

The work of the partnership will build on plans tha! t were already well
underway prior to the hurricanes, such as juvenile justice reform. It will
also enable Louisiana to benefit from expert consultation tailored to
specific needs identified by the state's leadership.

Funding provided by the foundations will enable the Children's Cabinet to
expand its staff capacity and enable targeted expert consultation to be
brought to bear on the challenges of redesign.

Rayanne F. Darrensbourg, newly appointed Director of the Children's Cabinet,
will lead this effort. She will be assisted by the TAC, with John Morris,
Director of the Human Services Practice, as lead consultant.

"We are fortunate to have these outstanding foundations contributing their
expertise in a solid partnership that benefits Louisiana's children,"
Governor Blanco said.

The MacArthur Foundation, headquartered in Chicago, is a private,
independent grant-making institution dedicated to helping groups and
individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. With assets
of about $4.8 b! illion, the Foundation makes grants of about $200 million
yearly.

A private charitable organization, the Casey Foundation is dedicated to
helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United
States. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies,
human services reforms and community supports that more effectively meet the
needs of today's vulnerable children and families. 

The Robert Wood Foundation seeks to improve the health and health care of
all Americans in four goal areas: to assure that all Americans have access
to quality health care at a reasonable cost; to improve the quality of care
and support for people with chronic health conditions; to promote healthy
communities and lifestyles; and to reduce the personal, social and economic
harm caused by substance abuse - tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. 

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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's
People

 www.louisianahelp.org