Bringing these two organizations together strengthens advocacy for Louisiana’s children and families.
BATON ROUGE — As of December 31, 2025, the Louisiana Partnership for Children & Families (LA Partnership) merged with the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (LPIC). This merger further strengthens the early childhood-focused policy, research and advocacy of LPIC while continuing the more than 20-year legacy of the LA Partnership’s leadership for children and families.
“Bringing these two organizations together strengthens our collaborative efforts to ensure Louisiana’s young children are ready for success in school and in life,” said Libbie Sonnier, Ph.D., chief executive officer at LPIC. “LPIC is honored to carry forward LA Partnership’s 20+ year legacy of advancing smart policies and building effective infrastructure for child and family well-being. We have worked closely together over the last several years to ensure children and families thrive through Geaux Far Louisiana.”
LPIC was first incubated as a project of the LA Partnership before it became an independent nonprofit organization in 2014. Now, the two organizations are coming back together to advance policies that ensure Louisiana’s young children and families succeed. Since launching Geaux Far Louisiana in 2021, LPIC has led collaborative statewide efforts to improve the comprehensive well-being of families, prenatal to age five – which has been a core focus of the LA Partnership. Through Geaux Far Louisiana, LPIC will continue to advance many of the issues the LA Partnership has prioritized, including access to nurse home visiting and parent and early childhood mental health support.
“Since I came to the Partnership in 2016, we have seen tremendous growth in the number of organizations focused on the many facets of the early childhood system in Louisiana,” said Susan East Nelson, J.D., executive director of the LA Partnership. “From increasing access to early childhood mental health and home visiting services, to promoting child health through vaccines, this merger represents a marshalling of resources to more effectively support Louisiana families with the best supports possible.”
For more information about LPIC, please visit policyinstitutela.org.
About Louisiana Policy Institute for Children:
Louisiana Policy Institute for Children is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that Louisiana’s young children, from birth to age four, are best prepared for success in school and in life. The Policy Institute develops policy proposals informed by data, research, best practices, and the experiences of other states to improve the outcomes of Louisiana’s youngest citizens, and further provides educational and outreach activities based on recommended policy solutions. The organization works to ensure children are safe, healthy, and have the opportunity to reach their full potential. For more information, visit www.policyinstitutela.org and follow the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About Louisiana Partnership for Children & Families:
The Partnership unites voices to improve the well-being of children through public policy advocacy, communications and the promotion of evidence-based programming. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded in 2004 following the merger of the You Who Coalition and the Louisiana Alliance for Children and Families. Since the Partnership’s formation, the organization has led key initiatives focused on improving child well-being, including the creation of Louisiana’s Child Care Quality Rating System, School Readiness Tax Credits, Louisiana Parenting Education Network, Triple P Positive Parenting Program statewide implementation, and the Louisiana Alliance for Shared Services. For the past 21 years, the advocacy led by the Partnership has resulted in the passage of over 100 pieces of legislation to improve child wellbeing, countless community meetings to engage the public in advocating for better outcomes for children, and numerous events to raise the profile of children’s issues among policymakers and community leaders.