Senate Bill No. by Senator Barrow proposes the abolition of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the transfer of its child welfare functions to the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), while child support enforcement functions will be transferred to Louisiana Works. The bill includes numerous amendments to existing laws to reflect these changes, primarily replacing references to DCFS with the appropriate agencies, such as changing "Department of Children and Family Services" to "Louisiana Works" and "Louisiana Department of Health." It also establishes an office of child support within Louisiana Works and outlines the responsibilities of both departments in managing child welfare and support programs, including child protective services and adoption placement.

Additionally, the bill ensures that all contracts and obligations related to the transferred programs will automatically be assigned to Louisiana Works or LDH, and employees currently working under DCFS will be transferred to the new departments without changes to their roles. The effective date for these changes is set for October 1, 2026, and the legislation repeals several existing laws related to the former structure of DCFS, aiming to streamline the transition to the new organizational framework while enhancing the efficiency and accountability of child welfare and support services in Louisiana.

Statutes affected:
SB265 Original: 6:333(F)(14), 9:58(4), 9:252(C), 9:303(A), 9:311(A)(2), 9:311(C), 9:1(C), 9:1(C)(2), 9:16(A), 9:24(A), 9:24(B), 9:31(5), 9:40(1), 9:18(B)(2), 9:396(B)(1), 9:1(A), 9:406(B)(2), 9:4(A)(2), 9:1(B)(6), 11:1(F), 13:1(B), 13:1(A), 13:998(B), 13:12(B), 13:1141(B), 13:1141(E)(1), 13:1141(E)(3), 13:1414(B), 13:3881(A)(1), 13:4291(B)(1), 13:4521(A)(3), 13:5713(J), 14:4(B)(1), 14:74(D)(2), 14:3(A), 14:403(A)(2), 14:3(A)(1), 15:305(A)(1), 15:2(A)(1), 15:4(A)(5), 15:7(C), 15:578(E), 15:587(A)(1), 15:1(A)(1), 15:5(A)(6), 15:934(A), 15:951(C)(1), 15:1084(A), 15:1084(C), 15:1084(C)(1), 15:1085(A), 15:1086(A), 15:4(D), 15:1428(C)(3), 17:15(A)(1), 17:15(A)(2), 17:1(A)(1), 17:238(A), 17:9(C), 17:23(B)(4), 17:35(C), 17:42(A)(2), 17:71(A)(1), 17:1687(B), 17:1972(1), 17:1974(A)(7), 17:3129(D)(2), 17:18(B)(11), 17:21(1), 22:1023(D)(7), 23:73(E)(2), 23:1605(A)(4), 23:1801(B)(1), 23:2043(A)(3), 24:525(D)(2), 24:933(B)(9), 24:936(B)(1), 27:2(D), 27:24(A)(5), 27:364(A)(1), 28:470(B)(8), 29:6(B)(6), 29:766(G)(3), 30:53(A), 33:41(D)(1), 36:3(7), 36:1(C)(8), 36:9(C), 36:108(B)(6), 36:254(A)(12), 37:1023(A), 37:1024(B)(5), 37:1025(A)(2), 37:1031(B), 39:33(A)(2), 39:36(A)(3), 39:181(A), 39:362(F), 39:1554(N)(1), 39:1554(N)(3), 39:1590(B)(4), 40:3(B)(2), 40:5(E), 40:41(N), 40:12(D), 40:79(A)(1), 40:91(A)(28), 40:14(B)(3), 40:17(C)(1), 40:1(8), 40:21(A)(5), 43:111(A)(8), 46:1(2), 46:2(A), 46:1(A), 46:56(A), 46:56(F)(9), 46:107(A)(1), 46:114(A), 46:114(C)(1), 46:114(C)(2), 46:3(A), 46:123(A)(2), 46:231(11), 46:4(A), 46:232(A), 46:1(C), 46:1(D), 46:1(3), 46:4(C), 46:7(B), 46:8(D), 46:9(B), 46:12(C), 46:3(A)(2), 46:5(A), 46:6(A)(1), 46:7(A)(1), 46:8(A), 46:10(A), 46:11(A), 46:12(B)(1), 46:13(A), 46:14(C), 46:14(D)(1), 46:14(D)(2), 46:15(A)(1), 46:237(A), 46:238(B), 46:238(E), 46:238(E)(7), 46:282(A), 46:283(A), 46:285(A), 46:285(B), 46:1(D)(2), 46:2(B), 46:13(3), 46:13(E), 46:16(B), 46:2(1), 46:352(1), 46:450(A), 46:7(A), 46:8(A)(1), 46:932(12), 46:1(A)(1), 46:1002(A), 46:1002(B), 46:1002(C), 46:1251(B), 46:1259(B), 46:1352(1), 46:1353(D), 46:1403(3), 46:1404(B), 46:1425(C), 46:1428(B), 46:1430(A)(1), 46:3(1), 46:1451(1), 46:1844(W)(1), 46:2(F), 46:2145(A), 46:2147(D), 46:2148(B)(1), 46:2161(A), 46:2161(B), 46:1(9), 46:2402(4), 46:2404(B)(1), 46:2406(G), 46:2411(2), 46:2605(B)(11), 46:1(B)(2), 46:2607(C)(1), 47:5(B)(2), 47:11(1), 47:41(B), 47:7(C)(2), 47:122(C), 47:1508(B)(23), 47:1676(4), 47:1677(F)(5), 47:6003(C)(4), 47:6028(B)(2), 47:6042(E)(2), 47:6102(2), 47:6105(A), 47:9027(C)(10), 49:121(E), 49:992(D)(2), 49:1212(B)(5), 49:1512(B), 49:1513(1), 51:2(A), 51:3(A), 51:1057(A), 51:1442(4)