LOUISIANA
THE ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
Finding out what is happening, why it is happening, and what we can do to make it better.
OUR MISSION
We are dedicated to systemic accountability and transparency within the justice and administrative systems of Louisiana. Our goal is to ensure that institutional actions are measured against the standards of law, ethics, and human dignity.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHY
Transparency is the first step toward reform. We investigate the 'why' behind systemic failures, seeking to understand the root causes of injustice and public distrust to advocate for meaningful solutions.
LOUISIANA IS OUR STARTING POINT — NOT OUR ONLY POINT OF COMPARISON
While Louisiana is where our work begins, we look toward national best practices and human rights standards globally to evaluate and reform local systems.
AREAS WE ARE INVESTIGATING
Our investigations span institutional misconduct, administrative negligence, and the impact of systemic inequality on our communities.
OUR METHOD
We employ rigorous data analysis, field reporting, and community testimony to build a comprehensive picture of accountability in action or INACTION.
COME INVESTIGATE WITH US
We invite citizens, experts, and community leaders to join our investigative efforts. Your insights and participation are vital to uncovering the truth.
LIFE. LOVE. TIME.
The three things we can never replace.
Every system entrusted with human lives should treat them accordingly.
Especially when the life entrusted to us is a child’s.
HELP FIRST. LEAST HARM. FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE.
ABOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
LOUISIANA
Finding out what is happening, why it is happening, and what we can do to make it better.
OUR MISSION
We exist to investigate systemic failures and champion transparency. Through data-driven stories and community reporting, we hold institutions accountable to the people they serve.
The system is often a black box. Our goal is to peel back the layers and understand the root causes of dysfunction, ensuring that the 'why' is as clear as the 'what'.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHY
LOUISIANA IS OUR STARTING POINT — NOT OUR ONLY POINT OF COMPARISON
While Louisiana is our home and our focus, we look beyond static borders to learn from successes and failures across the nation. We bench-mark against the best to ensure our solutions are world-class.
THE SYSTEM
“The system” is not one agency, one office, or one person. It is the network of institutions, policies, professionals, organizations, private companies, nonprofit organizations, contracted and subcontracted service providers, and decision-makers that affect our lives.
We have received reports and heard experiences raising concerns across multiple parts of these systems. A report is not automatically a proven fact. It tells us where questions need to be asked, records examined, evidence verified, and further investigation may be needed.
We are investigating, to the best of our ability:
CHILDREN & CHILD PROTECTION
Child welfare, foster care, child-abuse investigations, placements, mandated reporting, family services, and the institutions responsible for protecting children.
SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
Public schools, school districts, special education, student safety, discipline, mandated reporting, school-based services, and educational opportunity.
COURTS & THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
Courts, judges, attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders, court-appointed professionals, procedures, access to justice, and accountability.
LAW ENFORCEMENT & CORRECTIONS
Police, sheriffs, state law enforcement, investigations, jails, prisons, probation, parole, correctional facilities, and oversight.
SNAP, EBT & PUBLIC BENEFITS
Public-benefit programs, eligibility and administrative decisions, access, errors, discrimination, government findings, corrective actions, and whether identified problems were actually fixed.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & VICTIM SERVICES
Reporting, protective orders, law enforcement, courts, victim services, institutional responses, and what happens when people ask for help.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING & EXPLOITATION
Prevention, reporting, investigations, victim identification, services, prosecution, institutional coordination, and accountability.
HEALTHCARE, MENTAL HEALTH & DISABILITY
Healthcare institutions, mental-health systems, disability services, patient rights, access to care, professional decision-making, and accountability.
EMPLOYMENT, WAGES & ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
Wages, working conditions, worker protections, economic opportunity, public policy, and whether people who work can afford the basic necessities of life.
HOUSING & BASIC NECESSITIES
Housing, affordability, utilities, homelessness prevention, public assistance, and access to basic necessities.
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Leadership, staffing, funding, training, policies, contractors, oversight, investigations, corrective-action plans—and whether problems government already identified were actually corrected.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
We are conducting this work independently with the resources available to us. We want researchers, students, professionals, current and former public employees, people with lived experience, and members of the community to help us find out what is really happening, why it is happening, what has worked, what has failed, and what can actually make things better.
We cannot do that alone. Come investigate with us.
This work is currently being funded through our own resources and the support of people who believe in what we are doing. To everyone who has already donated: thank you. Your support matters.
If you are able to contribute, donations help us continue researching, documenting, educating, investigating, and bringing people together in pursuit of meaningful accountability and justice.
AREAS WE ARE INVESTIGATING
OUR METHOD
OUR METHOD
LISTEN → DOCUMENT → VERIFY → CONNECT → COMPARE → INVESTIGATE → FIND THE ROOT CAUSE → BUILD A SOLUTION → MEASURE THE RESULTS
We begin with questions, reports, lived experiences, public records, government findings, research, data, and other available information. We do not treat a report, allegation, observation, or theory as an established fact.
We document what is known, verify what can be verified, and clearly identify what remains unknown.
Then we follow the connections.
FOLLOW THE RECORDS.
FOLLOW THE DECISIONS.
FOLLOW THE CHAIN OF AUTHORITY.
FOLLOW THE MONEY WHEN RELEVANT.
FOLLOW WHAT GOVERNMENT ALREADY KNEW.
FOLLOW WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO CHANGE.
FOLLOW WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
We compare cases, agencies, policies, people, organizations, time periods, and other states when appropriate. A recurring name, organization, decision, or pattern is not proof of wrongdoing. It is a reason to ask more questions and investigate further.
We look backward as well as forward: Where did the practice come from? Why was it created? What problem was it supposed to solve? What did investigations already find? What corrective actions were required or promised?
Were they actually implemented? Did they work? Did the same harm happen again? Then we investigate why.
Was it human error? Understaffing? Overwhelming caseloads? Low pay? Inadequate resources or training? Outdated technology? Bad policy? Failure to follow good policy? Discrimination? Institutional culture? Leadership? Pressure from higher-ups? Financial incentives? Deliberate misconduct? Corruption? Or several things operating together?
We don’t want to guess. We want to find out.
And finding the problem is not enough.
The goal is to identify the root cause, find or build a solution, put that solution into action, and measure what happens afterward.
Because an investigation, a penalty, a repayment, a new policy, or a promise of reform does not by itself mean the problem was fixed.
We don’t want to guess. We want to find out.
Finding the problem is not enough. The goal is to identify the root cause, prevent the harm from happening again, build solutions that actually work, and measure the results.
But fixing a system for the future does not erase what already happened. We also ask what accountability occurred for the failures that caused harm—and whether there was justice for the people and families who suffered because of them.
Whether the cause was understaffing, overwhelming workloads, inadequate resources, poor training, bad policy, discrimination, misconduct, corruption, or something else, we want to understand why it happened, who or what was responsible, what was done about it, whether the harm was prevented from happening again, and what was done for the people already harmed.
DID IT GET BETTER?
DID THE HARM STOP?
WAS ANYONE HELD ACCOUNTABLE?
AND WAS THERE JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WERE HARMED?
DIDN’T EXPECT.
COME INVESTIGATE WITH US
Accountability alone is not enough. We want to bring people together to find out what is happening, understand why it is happening, prevent harm, and build solutions that actually work. When something has already gone wrong, we want to know whether it was corrected—and whether it happened again.
Louisiana
ABOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
Finding out what is happening, why it is happening, and what we can do to make it better.
OUR MISSION
The Accountability Project is a investigative initiative dedicated to radical transparency within the systems that govern our lives. We believe that justice begins with knowledge, and that every citizen has the right to understand the mechanisms of power that impact their families and communities.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHY
We don't settle for 'that's just how it is.' We investigate the root causes of systemic failure, seeking out the specific policies, people, and financial incentives that perpetuate harm. By asking the hard questions, we pave the way for real, evidence-based reform.
LOUISIANA IS OUR STARTING POINT — NOT OUR ONLY POINT OF COMPARISON
While our work begins deep in the heart of Louisiana, we look beyond our borders to understand best practices, failed experiments, and successful models of governance from around the country. We compare our outcomes with others not to disparage, but to demand better for our residents.
AREAS WE ARE INVESTIGATING
OUR METHOD
We utilize forensic document review, deep-dive interviews, and data benchmarking. Our method is rigorous and unbiased, rooted in the philosophy that the truth is often hidden in plain sight—within public records and the lived experiences of those the system was designed to serve.
- Juvenile Justice and Correctional Facilities
- Family Court Systems and Guardian Oversight
- Public Resource Allocation and Budget Transparency
- Systemic Barriers to Economic Mobility
COME INVESTIGATE WITH US
Accountability is a collective responsibility. We invite researchers, data analysts, and concerned citizens to join our collaborative effort to pull back the curtain. Your skills can help us build a more transparent future for every Louisianan.
COME JOIN US
There are many ways to support The Accountability Project. Whether you have a story to tell, a skill to volunteer, or vital information to share, your participation is the engine of reform.
LIFE. LOVE. TIME.
THE THREE THINGS THAT ARE IRREPLACEABLE.