RFK Community Alliance Honors the Late Edward Loughran

Edward “Ned” Loughran was ahead of his time when he fought for youth mental health, job training, and education services in the American juvenile justice system. After serving nearly a decade in the clergy, he dedicated the next 43 years of his life to juvenile corrections reform, advocating for laws to foster rehabilitation rather than reincarceration. He understood that with the right support systems and interventions in place, juvenile offenders would have the resources to transform their lives and become productive members of society. Jails would be less crowded, offenders upon release would become role models for those still imprisoned, and incarceration would be less costly. A win-win from all sides of the system while putting people, the youth, and their families first.

On Wednesday, October 26, Loughran will be honored posthumously during RFK Community Alliance’s Embracing the Legacy event at Boston’s JFK Presidential Library and Museum. The largest annual fundraiser for the nonprofit organization, previously Doctor Franklin Perkins School and Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, honors individuals whose exceptional actions reflect the social values and hopes of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. His son, Sean Loughran, will accept the posthumous Embracing the Legacy Award on his behalf. Loughran served as a board member for the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps from 2011 until he passed in 2016.

“It is truly an honor and privilege to accept this esteemed award on behalf of my Dad, who embodied late Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s vision that every child in this country live as we would want our own children to live,” says Sean Loughran, Ned and Maria’s son. “Late Senator Kennedy was my Dad’s hero, and my Dad was mine. My mom and I are deeply proud of my dad’s work and the lasting impact that he had on the juvenile justice system.”

Loughran’s accomplishments are numerous. He began his career as a Vincentian priest at St. John’s Preparatory School in Brooklyn, New York, before working in a parish ministry at St. Vincent’s Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He went on to solidify his place as a national advocate for juvenile corrections working for the New York State Division of Youth before he was named deputy commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, a position he proudly held from 1985 to 1993. During his tenure, the organization became known as the “Massachusetts Model” for being the most cost-effective juvenile justice agency in the nation and having the lowest recidivism rate.

In Loughlin’s final act of his career, he switched from direct service to the nonprofit sector. From 1993 to 1996, he served as the Director of the National Juvenile Justice Project helping to further Robert F. Kennedy’s belief “…that every child in this country live as we would want our own children to live.” In 1994, he founded the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, a national organization, headquartered in Braintree, Massachusetts, that enhances local correctional and residential facilities and programs, and promotes better long-term outcomes for youth and their families. Separately, he ran Loughran & Associates, a juvenile justice consulting business in Winchester, Massachusetts founded in 2006 and co-wrote the book, “Balancing Juvenile Justice.”

“Mr. Loughran was a legend and, although no longer with us, truly is around the system everyday with his models and standards helping children in programs nationwide,” says Michael W. Ames, President and CEO of RFK Community Alliance. “We are honored to present him with this year’s Embracing the Legacy Award. Through this prestigious honor, we celebrate the accomplished and dedicated leaders of today while inspiring future generations to carry on the late Senator’s legacy and protect Massachusetts and the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.”

Over the years, RFK Children’s Action Corps, now RFK Community Alliance, has sought to celebrate and acknowledge groundbreaking individuals who exemplify the organization’s mission to promote meaningful and sustained well-being for children, youth, and adults facing educational, developmental, mental health, and other challenges. Each year, the organization serves about 1,500 individuals and families statewide through programs based in Acton, Boston, Clinton, Holyoke, Lancaster, Middleton, Springfield, and South Hadley, as well as nationally through adoption services and training and technical assistance focused on youth justice transformation. The organization’s headquarters is in Lancaster.

During the event, Former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III, an RFK Community Alliance board member, will reflect on his late grandfather’s legacy and the lasting contributions he made toward protecting society’s most vulnerable children and families.

The event will feature a cocktail reception, seated dinner, and program, and will include award presentations to Nora Baston, Superintendent of the Boston Police Academy; Jay Calnan, Chief Executive Officer and Owner of J. Calnan & Associates, Inc. and Co-Founder of Team Impact; Edward Loughlin, Founder and Executive Director of Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (posthumous); a Marylou Sudders, Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Former President and CEO of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Ed Kelley, retired CEO of Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, will also receive the Lifetime Achievement award.

About RFK Community Alliance

RFK Community Alliance, previously Doctor Franklin Perkins School and RFK Children’s Action Corps, provides high-quality care and support to people and families facing complicated challenges in the state of Massachusetts. As a multi-service agency, we offer a wide range of programs serving a variety of needs across all ages from infants to seniors. Our mission is to promote meaningful and sustained well-being for children, youth, and adults facing educational, developmental, mental health, and other challenges. We work hand-in-hand with the person being served, their family and community to build on strengths and help develop networks of support. Learn more at rfkcommunity.org.