ENROLLED
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 305
BY REPRESENTATIVES EDMONSTON, ADAMS, AMEDEE, BERAULT, BILLINGS,
BUTLER, CARRIER, CARVER, CREWS, DICKERSON, DOMANGUE, EGAN,
EMERSON, FISHER, HORTON, JACKSON, KNOX, LAFLEUR, JACOB
LANDRY, LARVADAIN, LYONS, MACK, MELERINE, MYERS, NEWELL,
OWEN, SCHLEGEL, SELDERS, STAGNI, TAYLOR, THOMPSON, WALTERS,
WYBLE, AND ZERINGUE
A RESOLUTION
To direct 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.
WHEREAS, in August 2022, two-year-old Mitchell Robinson, III, died from a
fentanyl overdose in Baton Rouge; and
WHEREAS, according to a report from the office of the state inspector general, in
the weeks before Mitchell's death, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)
received three reports from his healthcare providers warning that he had clinically responded
to Narcan, indicating an opioid overdose, and asking DCFS to intervene; and
WHEREAS, according to the report, caseworkers never made face-to-face contact
with the family or made any effort to remove him from their care prior to Mitchell's death;
and
WHEREAS, according to the report, Mitchell died approximately a week after the
final warning to DCFS according to a pending court case; and
WHEREAS, sixteen days after Mitchell's death, the remains of two-year-old Ezekiel
Harry were found in a trash can in Terrebonne Parish; and
WHEREAS, according to court records, the coroner determined that Ezekiel died
from blunt force trauma to the head; and
WHEREAS, according to Fox 8 WVUE news, a neighbor alleges that before his
death, she filed a complaint with DCFS about the screams she kept hearing from the home
of Ezekiel and his sibling; and
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WHEREAS, a 2016 DCFS transition report prepared for Governor John Bel Edwards
stated that "the population's most in need are underserved" and "child safety is at risk"; and
WHEREAS, in March 2022, DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters testified to
the Louisiana Legislature that DCFS was "drowning" and has "never had enough staff in
child welfare" during her time there; and
WHEREAS, on January 2024, the WAFB investigative team reported that since
March 2023, one hundred fifty foster children had one thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six hotel stays; and
WHEREAS, on February 19, 2024, the secretary of DCFS, David Matlock, told
WRKF Talk Louisiana that his agency was in a "death spiral" and that it is "hemorrhaging"
employees; and
WHEREAS, in the February 2024 interview, Secretary Matlock stated that DCFS
"has been eviscerated by funding cuts that have profoundly affected the agency's ability to
handle child welfare cases"; and
WHEREAS, according to the 2024 DCFS Annual Progress and Services Report,
thirty percent of Louisiana foster children are moved to a new placement within ten days,
and forty percent are moved within thirty days, which is below the national average; and
WHEREAS, research shows that foster children require stability to encourage and
promote positive outcomes in education and health; and
WHEREAS, there is an alleged lack of provision of physical health and meaningful
mental health services to children in DCFS state custody, even in completing initial medical
examinations and behavioral needs assessments for children in state custody; and
WHEREAS, in honor of Ezekiel Harry, the Legislature of Louisiana passed
"Ezekiel's Law" to authorize the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board to form subcommittees
to study the causes of child abuse and develop strategies to reduce the occurrence of child
abuse; and
WHEREAS, the Partners in Protecting Children Subcommittee of the Children's
Cabinet Advisory Board was created to study the causes and effects of child abuse and
neglect, the legal aspects of child protection and foster care, and effective training programs
for employees who work with families where child abuse is suspected.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby direct 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.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall analyze the challenges facing
children and families in this state that receive assistance and care through the Department
of Children and Family Services and provide recommendations to improve outcomes and
protect children.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Partners Protecting Children Subcommittee
shall submit a written report summarizing its findings and recommendations to the House
Committee on Health and Welfare and the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library
by February 1, 2025.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
executive director of the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board and the secretary of the
Department of Children and Family Services.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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