Concrete Supports

Building Strong Children and Families: A Learning Series with CASA

Louisiana CASA is excited to host our second webinar series, Building Strong Children and Families. This series is brought to you in parntership with the Louisiana Children's Trust Fund so we are required to ask participants certian demagraphic questions during registration. Once you register, an email will be sent to you that includes the link to join the webinar. We hope to see you there!

Building Strong Children: Concrete Supports

Join Louisiana CASA for our Building Strong Children and Families Learning Series. The fifth session in this public educational series is Concrete Supports. Parents who do not have access to reliable concrete supports, like high-quality early care and education for their children, and other resources often experience difficulties in many areas. Gaining access to concrete support can help shift the focus from crisis or emergency needs and allow parents to make a more stable environment for their family. Working parents need a safe, nurturing, enriching place for their children to go while they do their jobs. Businesses need working parents to be able to show up reliably, which requires reliable childcare. High-quality early care and education prepare children to learn, grow, and succeed. At the same time, high-quality early care and education is financially out of reach for too many Louisiana families. Currently, in Louisiana, only 15% of in-need children aged birth to three can access a publicly funded early care and education program.  In this presentation, Dr. Libbie Sonnier will address the progress and challenges that Louisiana faces in ensuring quality early care and education for all of Louisiana’s families.

About the Speaker

Dr. Libbie Sonnier

Libbie Sonnier, Ph.D., has served as the Executive Director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children since 2019. Recognized for her tenacity and deep commitment to children, Dr. Sonnier has led teams in system-wide initiatives for the betterment of children, families, caregivers, and practitioners for more than two decades. During her time at the Louisiana Policy Institute, she has helped secure and direct more than $1B for early care and education in Louisiana, including the state’s largest new early learning investments in a decade and a 20-year millage that creates one of the nation’s largest dedicated funds for infant and toddler care in New Orleans. She also helped conceive, launch, and co-chair the Steering Committee of Geaux Far Louisiana, a comprehensive effort that engages parents and early childhood health and education providers in leading the transformation of the state’s early childhood systems to better meet the needs of families.