ENROLLED
2017 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 17
BY REPRESENTATIVES HOFFMANN, ARMES, BACALA, CARPENTER, STEVE
CARTER, CHANEY, COX, DAVIS, DEVILLIER, EDMONDS, EMERSON,
FALCONER, FOIL, GISCLAIR, GUINN, HOWARD, LEBAS, MARCELLE,
MCFARLAND, POPE, RICHARD, SCHRODER, STEFANSKI, THOMAS, AND
WHITE
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to study the issue of
reporting of child abuse and neglect in military families, and to recommend to the
legislature policies for improving coordination between the department and the
United States Department of Defense in matters relating to child welfare.
WHEREAS, the Department of Children and Family Services, referred to hereafter
as "DCFS", works to meet the needs of this state's most vulnerable children by carrying out
vital child protection functions; and
WHEREAS, these functions include investigations by the DCFS child welfare
division of reports of child abuse and neglect; and
WHEREAS, current data indicates that approximately seventy percent of active duty
military families reside in the civilian community; and
WHEREAS, the secretary of the United States Department of Defense is required by
law, 10 U.S.C. 1787, to coordinate with civilian child welfare services for the purpose of
obtaining information concerning allegations of child abuse and neglect involving children
in military families; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Defense depends upon collaboration with state
agencies such as DCFS to fulfill this obligation to address child abuse and neglect; and
WHEREAS, the Family Advocacy Program of the Department of Defense requires
the military services to establish agreements with state and local child welfare services to
collaborate on the oversight of cases involving military families; and
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WHEREAS, changes in state laws, regulations, and policies could facilitate
development of more consistent agreements and better coordination of state child welfare
functions and military protective and rehabilitative services, with the overall goal of
achieving the most effective partnership between the Department of Defense and the state
to best serve military children and families; and
WHEREAS, examples of model laws providing for such coordination of child
welfare functions are those of the states of South Carolina and Washington, which direct the
collection of military affiliation information as part of the child abuse and neglect response
process and the sharing of pertinent case information with the appropriate military
authorities.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to study the issue of
reporting of child abuse and neglect in military families, and to recommend policies for
improving coordination between the department and the United States Department of
Defense in matters relating to child welfare.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in developing the study and recommendations
requested in this Resolution, the Department of Children and Family Services shall engage,
collaborate with, and obtain information and perspective from representatives of the Family
Advocacy Program of the Department of Defense, Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana, the Child
Advocacy Centers and CASA of Louisiana, and any other stakeholder groups with an
interest in child abuse prevention as deemed appropriate by the secretary of the Department
of Children and Family Services.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Children and Family Services
shall submit a written report of its recommendations resulting from the study requested in
this Resolution to the House Committee on Health and Welfare, the Senate Committee on
Health and Welfare, the House Committee on Judiciary, and the Senate Judiciary C
Committee on or before February 1, 2018.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy of the United
States Department of Defense, the secretary of the Department of Children and Family
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Services, the executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana, and the president of
LouisianaChildren.org.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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