Louisiana Children’s Code 725.5 – Duties of the Department of Children and Family Services
Terms Used In Louisiana Children's Code 725.5
- Abuse: means any one of the following acts that seriously endanger the physical, mental, or emotional health, welfare, and safety of the child:
(a) The infliction, attempted infliction, or, as a result of inadequate supervision, the allowance of the infliction or attempted infliction of physical or mental injury upon the child by a parent or any other person. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
- Caretaker: means any person legally obligated to provide or secure adequate care for a child, including a parent, tutor, guardian, legal custodian, foster home parent, an employee or an operator of an early learning center as defined in La. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
- Child: means a person under eighteen years of age who, prior to juvenile proceedings, has not been judicially emancipated under Civil Code Article 366 or emancipated by marriage under Civil Code Article 367. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
- Department: means the Department of Children and Family Services. See Louisiana Children's Code 725.1
- Neglect: means the refusal or unreasonable failure of a parent or caretaker to supply the child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, care, treatment, or counseling for any injury, illness, or condition of the child, as a result of which the child's physical, mental, or emotional health, welfare, and safety is substantially threatened or impaired. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
- Person: means any individual, partnership, association, agency, or corporation, and specifically shall include city, parish, or state law enforcement agencies, and a parish or city school board or a person employed by a parish or city school board. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
A. The department shall be responsible for investigating reports of abuse or neglect where the abuser is believed to be a parent or caretaker, a person who maintains an interpersonal dating or engagement relationship with the parent or caretaker, or a person living in the same residence with the parent or caretaker as a spouse whether married or not.
B. The department shall fully cooperate with law enforcement, prosecutors, and court staff in the investigation and prosecution of child sexual exploitation, including ensuring that all state, federal, and community-based resources for sexually exploited children are known to the child.
C. The department shall maintain a current listing of licensed residential homes that specialize in the provision of services to exploited children. This listing shall be made available to courts, prosecutors, law enforcement, and other stakeholders involved in proceedings pertaining an exploited child.
D. The department shall cooperate with the prosecution of any perpetrator of child exploitation.
E. The department shall develop policies that reflect best practices. It shall consider all protocols developed by the Louisiana Human Trafficking Commission and assist in compiling data requested by the commission when available.
Acts 2017, No. 376, §1.