SLS 22RS-1302 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 87
BY SENATOR MIZELL
CHILDREN/FAMILY SERVICES DEPT. Requests the Department of Children and Family
Services to enact policies relative to children giving birth.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to enact policies
3 relative to following up with minor children giving birth in hospitals.
4 WHEREAS, the United States has a higher teenage pregnancy and teenage birth rate
5 than other developed nations; and
6 WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Louisiana
7 women between the ages of 15 and 19 are having children at a rate of 30 or more per 1,000;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, teen pregnancy may be by choice, or the result of sexual abuse or being
10 a victim of sexual trafficking; and
11 WHEREAS, the CDC reports that teen births contribute to greater high school
12 drop-out rates, and social determinants of health in communities and families may contribute
13 to high teen birth rates, including low education, low income levels, and an inability to
14 access reproductive services; and
15 WHEREAS, the Maternal and Child Health Journal reported in 2009 that children
16 born to teenage mothers are at a greater risk for low birth rates, cognitive delays, lower IQ
17 scores, and higher body mass index; and
18 WHEREAS, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that teenage mothers are,
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SLS 22RS-1302 ORIGINAL
1 on average, impoverished, experience lower levels of education, and lower rates of labor
2 force participation; and
3 WHEREAS, children of teenage mothers are more likely to experience maltreatment
4 and foster care prior to their first birthday, and are more likely to engage in risky behaviors
5 when they are older; and
6 WHEREAS, adolescents reporting to hospitals to give birth should be contacted by
7 the Department of Children and Family Services to assess what services the new mother and
8 child may require to prevent maltreatment, lower labor education, and lower labor force
9 participation by the new mother, and decrease the potential for developmental delays of the
10 child.
11 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
12 does hereby urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to enact
13 policies relative to contacting and assessing the need for services among adolescent mothers
14 and their newborns.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
16 secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Whitney Kauffeld.
DIGEST
SR 87 Original 2022 Regular Session Mizell
Urges and requests the Department of Children and Family Services to contact adolescent
mothers who give birth in hospitals to assess the need for services for the mother and
newborn.
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