How We Get There

Developing the Whole Health Louisiana State Plan

Hundreds of voices from across Louisiana contributed to the creation of Whole Health Louisiana. Insights from the community-based, statewide discovery process and the November 2022 convening served as the foundation for developing the Whole Health Louisiana State Plan priorities and structure. The plan development process, coordinated by the Louisiana Department of Health through the Bureau of Family Health, was guided by a steering committee, supported by cross-sector working groups, and informed by advisory bodies and community conversations held throughout the state.

A young boy in a helmet riding a bike in the foreground, with an adult in a yellow shirt biking behind him outdoors.

Many of Louisiana’s public sector leaders were actively involved in plan development and provided feedback on how the Whole Health Louisiana State Plan priorities may be implemented in their agencies. These agencies have committed to implement or expand trauma-informed policies and practices within their organizations, participate in cross-sector collaboration, and advance plan recommendations. The outcome of this collective work will improve the overall well-being of Louisiana’s children, families, and the child- and family-serving workforce.

Creating Whole Health Louisiana

The result of this process was Louisiana’s first trauma-informed state plan that includes an overview of trauma-informed and adversity-related concepts, four priority areas with recommendations and objectives to achieve the goal of each priority and an implementation approach that has buy-in across youth- and family-serving systems. This unified, trauma-informed, state plan invests in the full potential of our young people, those who care for them, and the workforce that serves them to improve health and safety outcomes for all Louisianans.

  • Background Reports for Development of the Whole Health Louisiana State Plan

    The development of the Whole Health Louisiana State Plan included:

    • An 11-month-long, state-wide discovery process to learn about the current state of childhood adversity in Louisiana, how it is being addressed, and what barriers exist to implementing change (September 2021 to August 2022)
    • A convening of state leaders, experts, and advocates to review the findings from the discovery process and launch the development of a State Plan (November 2022)
    • A yearlong collaborative process to draft the Whole Health Louisiana State Plan that included Community Conversations, organized and facilitated by the Power Coalition of Equity and Justice, across all nine Louisiana public health regions (January 2023 to November 2023)
  • Priority Areas of the Whole Health Louisiana State Plan:
    • Collaboration: Connect and align government agencies, community based-organizations, educational institutions, and healthcare providers to create a seamless network of support for children and families. 
    • Awareness: Inform the public, policymakers, and workforce about the impacts and drivers of childhood trauma to reduce stigma and encourage the adoption of evidence-based, early intervention and preventative measures.
    • Prevention + Healing: Expand preventive programs, access to services, and community-based initiatives that promote resilience and wellbeing.
    • Workforce: Implement strategies for training and support to ensure that frontline workers can effectively care for themselves and those they serve.

The Whole Health Louisiana State Plan is grounded in the science of early adversity, resilience, and the experience of professionals, leaders, and community members throughout the state. The initiative commenced with a discovery process to gain insights into the current state of addressing childhood adversity in Louisiana identifying challenges, needs, bright spots, and existing opportunities. More than 700 Louisiana service providers, subject matter experts, and community members were interviewed and surveyed during this phase.

An adult sits at a kitchen table with two young children, reading a book to them. Food and dishes are visible in the background.

Building upon the findings from the discovery phase, plan development included broad engagement with service providers, advocates, state leaders, and community members. Over the course of a year, the Louisiana Department of Health’s (LDH) Bureau of Family Health and Trepwise, a strategy consulting firm, convened the Whole Health Louisiana Steering Committee, Working Group, Advisory Group, Youth Advisory Group, and community members from across Louisiana, integrating their insights, knowledge, and experiences into the plan’s strategies. Concurrently, the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice led Community Conversations across Louisiana to gather direct feedback from community members about how best to address childhood adversity and trauma.

The Whole Health Louisiana Coalition will move Louisiana toward the Whole Health Louisiana State Plan’s stated mission, desired outcomes, and ultimate vision by advancing recommendations within four priority areas. 

Collaboration Goal

Establish and provide foundational support for a coalition of state-led entities, service providers, universities, funders, and leading community-based organizations that drives cross-system collaboration and plan implementation.

Awareness Goal

Promote accurate and widespread understanding across the state of the prevalence and effects of childhood adversity and the importance of advancing investment in and practices supporting prevention and mitigation.

Prevention + Healing Goal

Increase buy-in for, investment in, and adoption of trauma-informed systems and services that enhance the prevention of and healing from childhood trauma for families and communities statewide.

Workforce Goal

Increase access to, commitment to, and investment in evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive practices within child and family-serving entities and systems across Louisiana.

Prepare

To address these identified priority areas, Whole Health Louisiana coalition members outlined a five-year phased implementation process to build and scale activities that support the plan’s objectives. The preparation phase for implementation was conducted in 2024 and focused on identifying the partners that the Bureau of Family Health would contract to execute specific elements of the plan. During this time, the Bureau identified the Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to lead the implementation of the plan, monitoring and evaluation, and quality improvement.

Act

The act phase, which spans July 2024 to December 2025, focuses primarily on public education, coalition building, and initiation of objectives and recommendations with identified implementation partners and decision-makers.

During this phase, activities include:

  • Reconvening and building the coalition
  • Regional meetings across the state to establish a common language and learn from partners about community strengths and opportunities for growth
  • Sharing subject matter expertise through the Lunch-n-Learn series
  • Contracting with the Center for Children and Families to lead the training and technical assistance pilot for trauma-informed transformation in the Monroe region
  • Launching the website

Adopt and Build

The adopt and build phase will span 2026 and 2027 and focus on further integrating quality improvement efforts ensuring Whole Health Louisiana State Plan objectives remain in alignment with stated goals and priorities and expanding implementation activities. This phase will support organizational change that is sustainable, widespread, and adapted to the unique needs of communities all across Louisiana.

Throughout this phase, Whole Health Louisiana will work to:

  • Expand system adoption: Encourage more communities to adopt trauma-informed and healing-centered practices.
  • Strengthen infrastructure: Build the capacity of local systems to support these practices through training, funding, and policy adjustments.
  • Foster local leadership: Empower community leaders and organizations to take ownership of the transformation, ensuring that change is mainly community-driven.

Sustain

The sustain phase will complete the five-year initiative of the Department. During this period, the Louisiana Department of Health will complete its transition out of a co-leadership/public sector anchor role while retaining membership in the Whole Health Louisiana Coalition and supporting efforts that continue to align with Department programming. The Blanco Center will continue its involvement with Whole Health Louisiana, assisting with implementation efforts, monitoring how trauma-informed care evolves across the state, and helping to collect and analyze data relevant to the goals of the initiative.