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Regular Session, 2011 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 121
BY SENATOR SHAW
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to study procedures relative to
children in need of care proceedings.
WHEREAS, state law provides certain procedures and requirements relating to
adjudication by a court that children are in need of care, including procedures for reporting
of alleged abuse, multidisciplinary investigations concerning allegations of child abuse and
neglect, disposition proceedings by the court, intervention by interested parties, and appellate
review of such proceedings; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana State Law Institute should review such procedures and
requirements to determine if present law should be revised to grant persons such as
grandparents standing as proper and interested parties to such proceedings, although they are
neither technically "guardians" nor "parents", legislatively superseding cases such as State
ex rel. D.E., 47 So.3d 1109 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2010), writ denied, 51 So.3d 6 (La. 2010); and
WHEREAS, such study should include review of procedures and requirements to
determine whether state law should specify that the composition of the multidisciplinary
investigation team should consist of professionals who have not, prior to the report of
alleged abuse, made a report to the department as a mandatory reporter of the children
named in the investigation; and
WHEREAS, such study should include review of procedures and requirements to
determine whether state law should specify that custody evaluators and medical or mental
health professionals making reports consist of professionals who have not, prior to the report
of allegations, acted in the capacity as a mandatory reporter of suspicions of abuse with the
children involved; and SR NO. 121 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, the report and conclusions of such study by the Louisiana State Law
Institute should be submitted to the Legislature of Louisiana, together with any
recommendations in the form of proposed legislation, not later than February 1, 2012.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request that the Louisiana State Law Institute study procedures relative
to children in need of care proceedings.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE