HLS 24RS-4911 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 305
BY REPRESENTATIVE EDMONSTON
CHILDREN/DCFS: Directs the Partners in Protecting Children Subcommittee of the
Children's Cabinet Advisory Board to study the needs of the child welfare system in
this state
1 A RESOLUTION
2To direct the Partners in Protecting Children Subcommittee of the Children's Cabinet
3 Advisory Board to study the needs of the child welfare system in this state.
4 WHEREAS, in August 2022, two-year-old Mitchell Robinson, III, died from a
5fentanyl overdose in Baton Rouge; and
6 WHEREAS, according to a report from the office of the state inspector general, in
7the weeks before Mitchell's death, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)
8received three reports from his healthcare providers warning that he had clinically responded
9to Narcan, indicating an opioid overdose, and asking DCFS to intervene; and
10 WHEREAS, according to the report, caseworkers never made face-to-face contact
11with the family or made any effort to remove him from their care prior to Mitchell's death;
12and
13 WHEREAS, according to the report, Mitchell died approximately a week after the
14final warning to DCFS according to a pending court case; and
15 WHEREAS, sixteen days after Mitchell's death, the remains of two-year-old Ezekiel
16Harry were found in a trash can in Terrebonne Parish; and
17 WHEREAS, according to court records, the coroner determined that Ezekiel died
18from blunt force trauma to the head; and
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HR NO. 305
1 WHEREAS, according to Fox 8 WVUE news, a neighbor alleges that before his
2death, she filed a complaint with DCFS about the screams she kept hearing from the home
3of Ezekiel and his sibling; and
4 WHEREAS, a 2016 DCFS transition report prepared for Governor John Bel Edwards
5stated that "the population's most in need are underserved" and "child safety is at risk"; and
6 WHEREAS, in March 2022, DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters testified to
7the Louisiana Legislature that DCFS was "drowning" and has "never had enough staff in
8child welfare" during her time there; and
9 WHEREAS, on January 2024, the WAFB investigative team reported that since
10March 2023, one hundred fifty foster children had one thousand eight hundred and seventy-
11six hotel stays; and
12 WHEREAS, on February 19, 2024, the secretary of DCFS, David Matlock, told
13WRKF Talk Louisiana that his agency was in a "death spiral" and that it is "hemorrhaging"
14employees; and
15 WHEREAS, in the February 2024 interview, Secretary Matlock stated that DCFS
16"has been eviscerated by funding cuts that have profoundly affected the agency's ability to
17handle child welfare cases"; and
18 WHEREAS, according to the 2024 DCFS Annual Progress and Services Report,
19thirty percent of Louisiana foster children are moved to a new placement within ten days,
20and forty percent are moved within thirty days, which is below the national average; and
21 WHEREAS, research shows that foster children require stability to encourage and
22promote positive outcomes in education and health; and
23 WHEREAS, there is an alleged lack of provision of physical health and meaningful
24mental health services to children in DCFS state custody, even in completing initial medical
25examinations and behavioral needs assessments for children in state custody; and
26 WHEREAS, in honor of Ezekiel Harry, the Legislature of Louisiana passed
27"Ezekiel's Law" to authorize the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board to form subcommittees
28to study the causes of child abuse and develop strategies to reduce the occurrence of child
29abuse; and
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HR NO. 305
1 WHEREAS, the Partners in Protecting Children Subcommittee of the Children's
2Cabinet Advisory Board was created to study the causes and effects of child abuse and
3neglect, the legal aspects of child protection and foster care, and effective training programs
4for employees who work with families where child abuse is suspected.
5 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
6Legislature of Louisiana does hereby direct the Partners in Protecting Children
7Subcommittee of the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board to the study the needs of the child
8welfare system in this state.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall analyze the challenges facing
10children and families in this state that receive assistance and care through the Department
11of Children and Family Services and provide recommendations to improve outcomes and
12protect children.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Partners Protecting Children Subcommittee
14shall submit a written report summarizing its findings and recommendations to the House
15Committee on Health and Welfare and the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library
16by February 1, 2025.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
18executive director of the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board and the secretary of the
19Department of Children and 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)]
HR 305 Original 2024 Regular Session Edmonston
Directs the Partners in Protecting Children Subcommittee of the Children's Cabinet Advisory
Board to the study the needs of the child welfare system in this state.
Requires the Partners in Protecting Children Subcommittee to submit a summary report of
its findings and recommendations to the House Committee on Health and Welfare and the
David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library by Feb. 1, 2025.
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