Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1430 – A.(1) For violations related to supervision, criminal history record checks, state central registry clearances, staff-to-child ratios, motor vehicle checks, or failure to report crit
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1430
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Child: means a person who has not reached age eighteen or otherwise been legally emancipated. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1403
- Child-placing agency: means any institution, society, agency, corporation, facility, person or persons, or any other group engaged in placing children in foster care or with substitute parents for temporary care or for adoption, or engaged in assisting or facilitating the adoption of children, or engaged in placing youth in transitional placing programs, but shall not mean a person who may occasionally refer children for temporary care. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1403
- Department: means the Department of Children and Family Services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1403
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- relative: means a natural or adopted child or grandchild of the caregiver or a child in the legal custody of the caregiver. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1403
- Specialized provider: means a child-placing agency, maternity home, or residential home. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1403
A.(1) For violations related to supervision, criminal history record checks, state central registry clearances, staff-to-child ratios, motor vehicle checks, or failure to report critical incidents, the Department of Children and Family Services may issue a written warning that includes a corrective action plan, in lieu of revocation, upon any person or specialized provider violating these requirements if such condition or occurrence does not pose an imminent threat to the health, safety, rights, or welfare of a child. Failure to implement a corrective action plan issued pursuant to this Section may result in either the assessment of a civil fine or license revocation or may result in both actions being taken by the department. Such civil fine shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars per day for each assessment; however, the aggregate fines assessed for violations determined in any consecutive twelve-month period shall not exceed two thousand dollars.
(2) The department shall adopt rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act which articulate factors in determining the type of sanction imposed including the severity of risk, the actual harm and mitigating circumstances, the failure to implement a written corrective action plan, the history of noncompliance, an explanation of the treatment of continuing and repeat deficiencies, evidence of a good faith effort to comply, and any other relevant factors. The authority to impose sanctions pursuant to this Section shall commence on the effective date of the rules promulgated pursuant to this Section.
B. The department shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act to provide for notice to the specialized provider or child-placing agency of any violation, for a departmental reconsideration process for sanctions issued, and for an appeal procedure including judicial review. Such appeal shall be suspensive. All appeals pursuant to this Subsection shall be heard by the division of administrative law pursuant to Chapter 13-B of Title 49 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. The division shall furnish to the facility or agency a copy of the decision, together with notice of the manner for requesting judicial review. During the pendency of an appeal, a specialized provider or child-placing agency may continue to receive funding for services provided to those eligible children as determined by the department.
C. The department may institute any necessary civil court action to collect fines imposed and not timely appealed. No specialized provider or child-placing agency shall claim imposed fines as reimbursable. Interest shall begin to accrue at the current judicial rate on the day following the date on which any fines become due and payable. All costs of any successful action to collect such fines, including travel expenses and reasonable attorney fees, shall be awarded to the department in addition to the fines.
D.(1) Civil fines collected pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be deposited immediately into the state treasury.
(2) After compliance with the requirements of La. Const. Art. VII, § 9(B) relative to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, and prior to the monies being placed in the state general fund, an amount equal to the amount deposited as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be credited to a special fund hereby created in the state treasury to be known as the “Specialized Provider Licensing Trust Fund”, hereinafter referred to as “the fund”. The monies in the fund shall be subject to annual appropriation and shall be available exclusively for use by the Department of Children and Family Services for the education and training of employees, staff, or other personnel of specialized provider and child-placing agencies.
(3) The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the same manner as the monies in the state general fund, and all interest earned from the investment of monies in the fund shall be deposited in and remain to the credit of the fund. All unexpended and unencumbered monies remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund.
Acts 2012, No. 599, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Acts 2014, No. 868, §5, eff. Oct. 1, 2014; Acts 2021, No. 31, §1.