I finally found a good resource on the state of children in Louisiana and New Orleans.

The group is called Agenda for Children and I found them by WALKING past their office on St. Charles. Thank goodness for the power of random ambling.
This statement from their web site cuts right to the chase:

“Released annually by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, the 18th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book ranked Louisiana 49th among states based on 10 key indicators of child well-being.

Since 2000, Louisiana experienced setbacks on 7 of those 10 indicators–infant mortality, low-birthweight babies, child death rate, teen death rate, children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment, children in poverty, and children in single-parent homes.

Louisiana did experience dramatic improvements in 3 indicators that reflect teenagers’ wellbeing. The teen birth rate, teen dropout rate, and the number of teens not attending either school or work all declined substantially since 2000.”

For more information, download the Louisiana press release“