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LA First researchers present early findings: gaps in early reading, wage differences and juvenile‑to‑adult justice crossover
Summary
The Kathleen Blanco Center’s LA First program presented its first legislative reports, showing early‑grade reading gaps by race, wage disparities among recent high‑school leavers, and that up to half of youth involved with juvenile justice may later enter adult corrections within a decade.
Researchers from the Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center presented an update on LA First — the legislative program to create a foundational integrated research system that links administrative data across education, workforce, health and justice systems — and highlighted preliminary findings from three mandated annual reports.
Steven Barnes, executive director of the Blanco Center, and Rachel Veron, LA First director, described the program’s design: the center receives copies of agency administrative records into a secure environment hosted by the Office of Technology Services; a small information team removes personal identifiers and a research team produces legislative reports and ad hoc analyses with partner‑agency oversight.
Nut graf: The first year of LA First focused on data assembly and produced three statutory reports (K–12 transitions and post‑secondary enrollment; juvenile justice transitions; and employment outcomes). Presenters highlighted racial disparities in early reading measures, gender and race gaps in early career wages for non‑college enrollees, and a substantial juvenile‑to‑adult corrections crossover rate in cohort analysis.
Chu Bui and Himani Sharma summarized Launch Louisiana findings on early reading and labor outcomes. Bui said the state uses DIBELS (DIBELS 8) reading assessments and found that white students outperform Black students at each grade level measured; "when we go ... to the beginning of third grade, the difference will turn out to be 17 percentage point, which is the largest differences," he said. Sharma presented wage findings for recent high school graduates who did not enroll in a Louisiana public institution: females averaged roughly $4,000 quarterly (~$16,000 annually) while males averaged about $6,000 quarterly (~$24,000 annually), a gap of about $8,000 annually in the observed cohort.
Alejandra Layton, lead author on the juvenile justice study, said cohort linkage shows that up to 50% of youth who were in Office of Juvenile Justice custody or supervision later became involved with adult corrections within the observation window; she added that 46% of crossover offenses occurred within one to five years after release from juvenile custody — a window she identified as important for interventions.
Robert Havens summarized employment‑outcome work linking Board of Regents completions to unemployment insurance wage records and noted several findings: an increasing share of completers earn certificates; women outnumber men in completions; and in a pilot occupational analysis registered nurses and other trade pathways typically align program training with occupational outcomes and show substantial wage mobility for participants.
Committee members asked about coverage and limitations: participation of local education agencies is voluntary under current arrangements and LA First has student‑level k‑12 records for many but not all districts (presenters said 42 LEAs participated covering parts of 27 parishes). Members asked that LA First pursue additional district opt‑ins, explore linking early childhood enrollment data and parental socioeconomic context where possible, and produce district‑level analyses for legislators to compare local outcomes.
Ending: Presenters said full reports are available online, offered to provide additional data and parish‑level breakdowns, and asked legislators to encourage district participation to improve statewide coverage.
