There will be several changes within the Department of Children and Family Services as a result of the just-completed legislative session. Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow initially sought to abolish the agency altogether. While that quest went nowhere, she was able to get other legislation to the governor’s desk, including one that adds a law enforcement liaison within the department.
She said they will “help them to decipher if it’s a call that should go directly to law enforcement and making sure that law enforcement picks up that case, or if it’s a case that should be investigated by the Department of Children and Family Services.”
Barrow tried to get nine liaisons, one for each region in the state, but she noted the state did not have money in the budget for that.
Barrow said one of the main purposes of her bill is to strengthen communication within the department. She said currently, the stakeholders who investigate child abuse cases haven’t always worked closely together.
“Now those individuals will all be working together simultaneously because one of the things that we found out was that was not really happening all the time,” said Barrow.
She said the end goal of her bill is to improve communication within the stakeholders of the agency to better protect children.
“The level of communication, which is one of the biggest factors that we continue to hear was a problem, is going to definitely be narrowed,” said Barrow.
According to Barrow, last year, 53 children died in DCFS custody; and this year, 30 have died.
Comments