Louisiana Children’s Code 640 – Service and return; child; resident parent; counsel
Terms Used In Louisiana Children's Code 640
- 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
- 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
- Safety plan: means a plan for the purpose of assuring a child's health, welfare, and safety by imposing conditions for the child to safely remain in the home, or, after a child has been removed from the home, for the continued placement of the child with a custodian and terms for contact between the child and the child's parents or other persons. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
- Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
A. For a child, through counsel, and for a parent who resides within the state, service of the petition, summons, and notice shall be made as soon as possible, and not less than fifteen days prior to commencement of the adjudication hearing on the matter, by any of the following means:
(1) Personal service.
(2) Domiciliary service.
(3) Certified mail.
(4) Electronic mail to the electronic mail address provided by counsel for the child or expressly designated by the parent in a pleading, at the continued custody or continued safety plan hearing, or at any other hearing at which the parent personally appeared before the court.
(5) Actual delivery by a commercial courier.
B. The person effecting service shall execute a return and, if service was made by certified mail, the return receipt shall be attached thereto.
C. Service by electronic mail is complete upon transmission, provided that the sender receives an electronic confirmation of delivery.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 2015, No. 124, §1, eff. June 19, 2015; Acts 2022, No. 272, §1.