Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services

The Northshore Community Foundation 2024 Chevron Community Fellows Program is hard at work! Earlier this week, the Fellows toured the Methodist Children's Home of Southeast Louisiana to focus on foster care in the community. State Representative Kim Carver shared his experience as a foster parent, inspiring these leaders to step up and support Louisiana's foster youth and families. Kayana Bradley, President of the Louisiana Elite Advocacy Force (LEAF Board), also shared her experience growing up in Louisiana's foster care system. The Fellows learned how supportive adults can collaborate with current and former foster youth to better support youth in care. Our Life Skills program works closely with LEAF throughout the year, supporting youth aging out of Louisiana's foster care system. This group of Fellows is already moving their bright ideas to actionable impact. They plan to charge the Program at large to come together and contribute toward a new item for our sensory room at the MCHSELA!?? Thank you to the individuals who recognize and respond to the needs of Louisiana's children and families. Together, we're making a difference.

It's #NationalFosterCareMonth Our Methodist Foster Care (MFC) program significantly improves the lives of Louisiana's children by offering them a safe and nurturing environment. Linda Taylor, MFC Foster Caregiver, is one of many extraordinary individuals who step up every day! Tune in to hear her story.?? Learn more and show your support by visiting https://lnkd.in/gjg_ZPS4

The Louisiana Methodist Children's Home received recognition for Outstanding Service from the U.S. Department of Justice, presented by U.S. Attorney Brandon Brown. Attorney Brown and his team toured our home and learned more about how our services minister to the diverse needs of Louisiana's children and families.

The Louisiana Methodist Children's Home received recognition for Outstanding Service from the U.S. Department of Justice, presented by U.S. Attorney Brandon Brown. Attorney Brown and his team toured our home and learned more about how our services minister to the diverse needs of Louisiana's children and families.

LUMCFS recently earned a GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency and a Four-Star Rating from?Charity Navigator for 2024. We're proud to continue offering our services to children and families in Louisiana, remaining accredited and accountable within the nonprofit space. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gQkSi-dk

Methodist Foster Care is Louisiana’s largest and most innovative Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC) agency. Check out this powerful testimony from one of our Lafayette parents, Maravia Montgomery.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's?2024 Race for Results?report examines child well-being, and finds children of color in #Louisiana face significant disparities when compared to their peers across the United States. According to the report, policy choices at the state and local levels, combined with the lack of support for families, have resulted in poor outcomes for children. Teresa Falgoust, director of data and research with Agenda for Children, said one major challenge in the state is the poverty levels. "Just 30% of Black children and 44% of Latino children in Louisiana live in households with incomes above 200% of the Federal Poverty Level," she explained, "and that's really the starting point at which families can make ends meet without having a lot of extra support." Falgoust added there are ways to improve this, and the report suggests that policies such as the expansion of Medicaid and family tax credits can play a crucial role in strengthening the well-being of families in Louisiana. Other key factors that could benefit families include expanding paid leave for every worker and increasing direct funding for college scholarships for low-income students. Despite the state's overall performance, she noted there are promising improvements when it comes to education. Falgoust said every year between 2017 and 2020, the number of young adults ages 25 to 29 who have at least an associate's degree has increased across all demographics, and added they are also seeing improvements in literacy across all demographics. "Another area that Louisiana has done really well in is improving our fourth-grade reading proficiency, among virtually every racial and ethnic group. And some of the reasons that we've seen for that have been we've made some pretty substantial commitments to increasing access to early care and education," she continued. Falgoust said the report highlights a need to focus on the unique needs of each community to overcome some of the variations in outcomes based on race or ethnicity. Other suggestions for improvement from the report include target programs and policies to close the well-being gaps for people of color and calls for lawmakers to consider "baby bonds" and children's savings account programs. Recently, #Congress reached an agreement to bring back the pandemic-era #ChildTaxCredit.

Does your therapy session include a ball pit??? The Sensory Room is one of the newest additions to our Methodist Children's Home of Southeast Louisiana. Children in our care arrive to a new environment that looks very different than what they're used to. Our Sensory Room allows them to open up and play in a safe, FUN atmosphere! Therapists utilize the space to enrich our youth's: ??Fine & Gross Motor Skills ??Visual, Auditory & Tactile Processing ??Balance & Movement ??Communication Skills