Boys Town Louisiana

About Boys Town Louisiana
Boys Town Louisiana provides research-based care for children and families facing serious challenges.

Through safe homes for youth in crisis, family support that helps prevent system involvement, and community-based services for at-risk children and families, we help young people and caregivers build stability, strengthen relationships, and move forward.

The History of Boys Town
Founded in 1917 by Father Edward J. Flanagan, Boys Town was a pioneer in American child welfare and one of the first purposefully integrated communities in the United States. Father Flanagan believed that every child deserves dignity, structure, opportunity, and care.

Boys Town Louisiana has carried that mission forward for nearly 40 years, serving children and families in our state under local leadership and a local board of directors.Our Impact
In 2025, Boys Town Louisiana served more than 1,250 children and families across Louisiana.

Our Programs

Residential

• Intervention and Assessment: Short-term emergency shelter and assessment for youth in crisis
• Family Home Program: Family-style residential care where youth connected to the Louisiana child welfare system live with Family-Teachers and build social, academic, and independent-living skills

Community-Based

• In-Home Family Services: Support, tools, and skill-building for families while children remain safely at home
• Care Coordination: Helps families access resources and navigate systems of care to improve safety and stability
• Early Head Start: Early childhood education and family support for infants, toddlers, and caregivers
• Common Sense Parenting: Parenting classes that help caregivers build skills and strengthen relationships with their children
• My Community Cares: Neighborhood-based support focused on strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect
• Successful Futures: Education, workforce, and life-skills support for youth and caregivers

Meet the Faces of Boys Town Louisiana

Detric & April Golden Family Teachers, Bienville Family Home

Detric and April Golden are Boys Town Louisiana's newest Family Teachers, bringing nearly 20 years of experience working with young people to their home for boys ages 12 to 18. They came to Boys Town because they believe, as Father Flanagan did, that any child can be helped. "Any bad behavior stems from something," Detric says. "Any kid can be helped." The Goldens bring that conviction into their home every day.

Michael Chauvin Board Member

Michael Chauvin joined the Boys Town Louisiana board after a conversation with a friend sparked his curiosity. What he found was an organization whose impact runs deeper than most people realize. "The real impact is community-wide," he says, "preparing children to enter school and giving young people the stability and life skills they need to lead productive lives." When he's not in board meetings, Michael is on his bike; he rides an average of 100 miles a week!

Rydell Successful Futures Alumni, Alumni of the Year 2025

Rydell came to Boys Town Louisiana at age twelve after years of instability in foster care. Over the next six years, the Family Home program and Successful Futures gave him the foundation to become a high school graduate, a member of the Louisiana Army National Guard, and an incoming college student. At this year's Spirit of Youth Awards Gala, Rydell was honored as the Alumni of the Year. His plaque read: In recognition of your journey and the path you are blazing for others.

Hazel Care Coordination Alumni

At sixteen, Hazel was a new mother navigating a life that had gotten complicated fast. Boys Town Louisiana's Care Coordination program connected her with consistent, one-on-one support to help her build stability. One year later, she is a junior in high school, working, raising her son, and planning to start college prerequisites this fall. She wants to study radiology technology. If she had one word for the past year, it would be "hope."

From a Former Boys Town Louisiana Youth

"Boys Town created a foundation when there was none. I didn't know how to sit down as a family. I didn't know how to communicate. Everything I had seen as a child was anger, tension, and rejection. Boys Town built those principles for me to be able to provide some type of structure for my own children.

"I look at where I'm at today and I still pinch myself. I was this person who felt like they were thrown away and forgotten. Just because you're going through this difficult time in your life, doesn't mean this is going to be your life forever...if Boys Town was never created, I wouldn't be the woman that I am."       -Terrica