HLS 15RS-930 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 125
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOFFMANN
CHILDREN/ABUSE: Requests a study on laws and policies relative to continuing contact
by parents and other relatives with children in need of care
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Children's Code Committee of the Louisiana State Law Institute to
3 study laws and policies relative to continuing contact by parents and other relatives
4 with children who are subjects of child in need of care proceedings, and to report to
5 the legislature findings and recommendations for protecting and promoting the well-
6 being and best interests of such children.
7 WHEREAS, Title VI of the Louisiana Children's Code provides for actions known
8as child in need of care proceedings, referred to hereafter as "CINC proceedings", which are
9brought by the state to protect children who are abused, neglected, abandoned, or
10endangered, and can result in a termination of parental rights and a complete and permanent
11separation of the parent from the child; and
12 WHEREAS, allegations that a child is in need of care must assert one or more of
13several grounds, including abuse of the child perpetrated, aided, or tolerated by the parent
14or caretaker, or by a person who maintains a dating relationship with the parent or caretaker;
15deprivation of the child of necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical care; conviction of
16a parent of a crime against the child; and other grounds provided for in Children's Code
17Article 606; and
18 WHEREAS, if a child is adjudicated to be in need of care, the disposition order may
19leave the child in a parent's custody or give custody to some other individual, a private
20agency, or the state; and
21 WHEREAS, courts have the responsibility of determining the best interest of a child
22in need of care with respect to custody of the child; and
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HCR NO. 125
1 WHEREAS, as the state agency tasked with ensuring the safety of children, the
2Department of Children and Family Services, referred to hereafter as "DCFS", makes
3recommendations and decisions for child placement and custody based on the immediate and
4ongoing needs of the child for safety and permanency in order to secure the well-being of
5the child; and
6 WHEREAS, DCFS and the courts of this state make dedicated efforts to balance the
7safety, permanency, and well-being of children with the constitutionally protected rights of
8family privacy and parental decisionmaking; and
9 WHEREAS, the process of making child placement and permanency decisions is
10often extremely challenging for family members and other persons who are involved in the
11life of the child; and
12 WHEREAS, DCFS provides foster care services to over eight thousand children
13annually; and
14 WHEREAS, within the past three years, DCFS, through its Faith in Families
15Initiative, has exceeded national standards by improving the rate of children being reunified
16with their families within twelve months of entry into foster care from seventy-two percent
17to seventy-six and six tenths percent, and also improving the rate of adoption of children
18within twenty-four months of entry into foster care from twenty-eight percent to forty-two
19percent; and
20 WHEREAS, while DCFS has demonstrated significant improvements in achieving
21permanency for children in foster care expeditiously, ongoing quality improvement is
22essential for the state to make further progress in achieving safe and permanent family
23placements for children in foster care; and
24 WHEREAS, in order to support continued improvement of the Louisiana child
25welfare system, it is prudent for the legislature to periodically call for a review of applicable
26laws and policies concerning child welfare to ensure that the state is as responsive as
27possible to the needs and best interests of our state's children in this state; and
28 WHEREAS, R.S. 24:204 provides that among the purposes of the Louisiana State
29Law Institute are securing the better administration of justice, conducting scholarly legal
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HCR NO. 125
1research and scientific legal work, and promotion of better adaptation of Louisiana law to
2present social needs.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
4urge and request the Children's Code Committee of the Louisiana State Law Institute to
5study laws and policies relative to continuing contact by parents and other relatives with
6children who are subjects of child in need of care proceedings.
7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Children's Code Committee shall include in
8its study an examination of potential changes to laws and policies which could expedite
9permanency for children in foster care.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Children's Code Committee shall report
11findings of its study and recommendations for any changes to laws and policies which would
12promote the safety and well-being of children to the House Committee on Health and
13Welfare, the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, the House Committee on the
14Administration of Criminal Justice, and the Senate Committee on Judiciary A no later than
15sixty days prior to the convening of the 2016 Regular Session of the Legislature of
16Louisiana.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
18director of the Louisiana State Law Institute and the secretary of the Department of Children
19and Family Services.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 125 Original 2015 Regular Session Hoffmann
Requests the Children's Code Committee of the La. State Law Institute to study laws and
policies relative to continuing contact by parents and other relatives with children who are
subjects of child in need of care proceedings.
Requests that the committee include in its study an examination of laws and policies which
could expedite permanency for children in foster care.
Requests the committee to report findings of its study and recommendations for any changes
to laws and policies which would promote the safety and well-being of children to the
legislative committees on health and welfare, the House Committee on the Administration
of Criminal Justice, and the Senate Committee on Judiciary A no later than 60 days prior to
the convening of the 2016 R.S.
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