ENROLLED
ACT No. 320
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 466
BY REPRESENTATIVE GISCLAIR
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact Children's Code Articles 424.2, 424.4(B), and 616(C), (D), and (F),
3 relative to court appointed special advocates; to provide authority to access the
4 child's home; to provide relative to the attendance of certain hearings and meetings;
5 to provide for screenings of CASA volunteers, staff members, and board of director
6 members; to provide for contingent effective dates; and to provide for related
7 matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. Children's Code Articles 424.2 and 424.4(B) are hereby amended and
10 reenacted to read as follows:
11 Art. 424.2. CASA; order of assignment
12 To accomplish the assignment of a CASA volunteer, the court shall issue an
13 order of assignment which shall grant the CASA volunteer the authority to review
14 all relevant documents pursuant to Article 424.6 and to interview all parties and
15 witnesses involved in the proceeding in which he is appointed. The court may also
16 grant the CASA volunteer access to the home in which the child is placed.
17 * * *
18 Art. 424.4. CASA; notice
19 * * *
20 B. The CASA volunteer shall be notified by the department and shall be
21 entitled to attend all of all administrative review hearings and family team meetings
22 concerning the case to which he has been assigned.,unless the parent objects.
Page 1 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HB NO. 466 ENROLLED
1 Section 2. Children's Code Article 616(C) is hereby amended and reenacted to read
2 as follows:
3 Art. 616. Central registry; screening court-appointed special advocates volunteers,
4 staff, and board members; confidentiality
5 * * *
6 C. Upon the written request of the court during its evaluation of an
7 individual applying to work as a court-appointed special advocate any of the
8 following individuals who will have contact with children served by the court-
9 appointed special advocate program, and with the consent of the applicant individual,
10 the department shall search the central registry and report to the court any justified
11 report of abuse or neglect alleging that the applicant individual is a perpetrator.:
12 (1) An individual applying to work as a court-appointed special advocate.
13 (2) A CASA staff member.
14 (3) A member of the CASA board of directors.
15 * * *
16 Section 3. Children's Code Article 616(C), (D), and (F) are hereby amended and
17 reenacted as follows:
18 Art. 616. State repository; central registry; screening court-appointed special
19 advocates volunteers, staff, and board members; confidentiality
20 * * *
21 C. Except as provided in this Article or R.S. 46:56, all records of reports of
22 child abuse or neglect are confidential. The department shall promulgate rules
23 regarding the maintenance, deletion, and release of information in the state
24 repository and central registry.
25 D. Upon the written request of the court during its evaluation of an
26 individual applying to work as a court-appointed special advocate any of the
27 following individuals who will have contact with children served by the court-
28 appointed special advocate program, and with the consent of the applicant individual,
29 the department shall search the central registry and report to the court any justified
30 report of abuse or neglect alleging that the applicant individual is a perpetrator.:
Page 2 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HB NO. 466 ENROLLED
1 (1) An individual applying to work as a court-appointed special advocate.
2 (2) A CASA staff member.
3 (3) A member of the CASA board of directors.
4 * * *
5 F. Information from investigations of reports that are inconclusive may be
6 disclosed, with the applicant's written consent, for the limited purposes of evaluating
7 the applicant to be a CASA volunteer, a foster parent, an adoptive parent, or
8 caregiver pursuant to R.S. 46:56(F)(11).
9 * * *
10 Section 4. The provisions of Section 3 of this Act shall become effective upon
11 adoption and publication by the Department of Children and Family Services of the final
12 rules to implement the provisions of this Act and Act No. 348 of the 2017 Regular Session
13 of the Legislature.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 3 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.