We first met “Nadia” as an 8th grader arrested for theft under $1,000. Her crime? Simply being present when her friend was caught stealing a pack of gum. What could and should have been a teachable moment for two adolescent girls instead became a frightening legal ordeal. Here is how we helped.

LCCR is pleased to announce the launch of our new narrative campaign, #ItTakesAVillageNOLA. This campaign coincides with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and calls upon New Orleanians to own the responsibility to its youth. It is part of a wider effort to combat the harmful narratives surrounding Black youth and promote alternative, positive narratives that reassert the humanity of young people in our city.

Louisiana’s Office of Juvenile Justice recently banned at-home holiday visits for incarcerated youth. This will keep children from visiting home for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras, and other major holidays.

At LCCR's Celebration for Children's Rights event on April 3, we will be presenting our 2025 Calogero Champion of Justice Award to Dominque Jones-Johnson, Founder & Executive Director of Daughters Beyond Incarceration, for her incredible work uplifting Black girls with parents in prison and developing them into advocates, policymakers, and grassroots activists to forever change lives, systems, and communities for good.

At the close of January, Aaron Clark-Rizzio concluded his 8.5 years of service as LCCR’s Executive Director and (later) Legal Director, leaving behind a legacy of thoughtful, dedicated stewardship of LCCR’s mission. Here we take a moment to reflect back on his impact at LCCR.

Shon Williams has worked at LCCR the past five years, and prior to that, he was incarcerated for 26 years for a crime he committed as a teenager. As our new Reentry Specialist, Shon is now using that lived experience to guide young people through their first steps back into the community after leaving prison.

CJ McCollum, the Pelicans’ starting shooting guard and president of the National Basketball Player Association, stopped by LCCR's office and the city's juvenile jail to learn more about the juvenile legal system landscape in New Orleans. Here's what McCollum says he learned through his visit with our staff and New Orleans' incarcerated youth.

In September, a judge ordered the removal of incarcerated youth from Angola. Shortly after, the state announced it would end its contract with the Ware Youth Center. While we support both these moves, we remain concerned about conditions for Louisiana's incarcerated youth.

LCCR has started a book club for the children incarcerated at the New Orleans juvenile jail. Through it, kids are choosing the books we read and leading the group discussions. Incarceration may restrict a young person’s body, but books allow their mind to be free.

Children incarcerated on the former death row unit of Louisiana’s Angola prison were locked in their cells without air conditioning for several days this month amid scorching summer temperatures, according to a teenager held at the facility. The child, identified by the pseudonym Charles C., said in a statement to his attorney that the kids were only let out […]