With our Celebration for Children’s Rights coming up on April 3rd, we’re excited to introduce our Pascal Calogero Champion of Justice awardee for 2025: Dominque Jones-Johnson, the Founder and Executive Director of Daughters Beyond Incarceration (DBI).

“Dominque is so unapologetic in her work,” says LCCR’s Executive Director Kristen Rome. “She isn’t depending on anyone else to make the change. She is committed to change and is doing the work herself. You can tell that the work is personal to her. I am grateful for that kind of leadership, and I am so proud of what she is doing for the community.”

DBI uplifts Black girls with parents in prison and develops them into advocates, policymakers, and grassroots activists to forever change unjust systems and their own communities. DBI works to tear down barriers and strengthen relationships between daughters and their incarcerated parents. They work with girls ages 8 to 18 with programming centered on restorative healing, mental health and well-being, youth development, and advocacy. DBI also trains mentees to serve in leadership roles in their communities.

Dominque came to this work from her own lived experience: her father has been serving a life sentence in Angola State Penitentiary since she was young. “My dad has been with me my entire life behind bars,” says Dominque. “I had to grow up in prison. My birthdays, graduations, and celebrations were experienced in prison.”

“With her experience of being a child of an incarcerated parent,” continues Kristen, “she got a real view of what it was like to try and maintain that relationship, and how integral that relationship is. She is working to fill the gap in her community that she needed as a child. The work that DBI does heals not just the whole child, but the whole family.”

Nearly 1 in 7 children in the state of Louisiana (94,000+ kids overall) experience parental incarceration, which is four times the national average. As a result of this experience, children will often end up in the prison system as well. Since DBI launched in May 2018, they have mentored over 200 girls locally impacted by parental incarceration, with 40 girls currently participating in the after-school program and 5 policy fellows. As is the design of the cycle of incarceration, many of LCCR’s clients have experience with parental incarceration; DBI often serves the same young people LCCR serves.

Beyond direct services, DBI regularly champions efforts at the state legislature to allow and facilitate family members to communicate with their incarcerated loved ones. In 2023, DBI helped pass legislation allowing incarcerated parents to virtually attend special ceremonies, like graduations, for their children.

In August 2024, DBI and LCCR co-hosted a Youth Justice Town Hall to raise awareness about new laws passed during Louisiana’s special legislative session on crime. More than 70 community members attended the standing room only event. The hope is that the event will spark greater community involvement and interest in working together to push back against harmful legislation

“Dominque personifies dedication and fierce advocacy for children whose parents are currently or formerly incarcerated,” says Tiye Davis, LCCR’s Policy Director. “Dominque is a dynamic leader who is unwavering in her commitment to create a better reality for children.”

We at LCCR are profoundly grateful for Dominque’s contributions toward a more just world for the children of Louisiana. For her years of incredible work helping girls advocate for themselves and their incarcerated parents in New Orleans’ legal system, we are thrilled to present Dominque Jones-Johnson with this year’s Calogero Champion of Justice Award.

Join us as we honor Dominque Jones-Johnson at this year’s Celebration of Children’s Rights event. Click here to RSVP.

LCCR’s Champion of Justice Award is named to honor the legacy of the late Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Pascal Calogero Jr., a staunch advocate for children’s rights who helped usher in groundbreaking juvenile justice reforms in the early 2000s. Honorees are nominated by LCCR’s staff and selected by a committee of LCCR staff and board members.