Louisiana Children’s Code 626 – Grounds for continued custody; reasonable efforts; grounds for continued safety plan
Terms Used In Louisiana Children's Code 626
- 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 603
- Reasonable efforts: means the exercise of ordinary diligence and care by the department throughout the pendency of a case pursuant to the obligations imposed on the state by federal and state law to provide services and supports designed and intended to prevent or eliminate the need for removing a child from the child's home, to reunite families after separation, and to achieve safe permanency for children. See Louisiana Children's Code 603
- Removal: means placing a child in the custody of the state or with someone other than the parent or caretaker during or after the course of an investigation of abuse and neglect to secure the child's health, welfare, and safety. 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
A. The court may authorize continued custody of a child prior to adjudication if there are reasonable grounds to believe the child is in need of care and that continued custody is necessary for the health, welfare, and safety of the child.
B. Except as otherwise provided in Article 672.1, the court shall determine whether the department has made reasonable efforts as defined in Article 603 to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the home and, after removal, to make it possible for the child to safely return home. The health, welfare, and safety of the child shall be the paramount concern. These determinations shall be supported by findings of fact contained in the continued custody order issued pursuant to Article 627.
C. The court may deem the department to have made reasonable efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for removal if the department’s first contact with the family occurred during an emergency which precluded those efforts.
D. The court may authorize the removal of the child even if the department’s efforts have not been reasonable if the court determines that removal is necessary to secure the health, welfare, and safety of the child and that additional efforts would not keep the child safe from identified threats of danger. The court may impose any sanctions it deems appropriate pursuant to Article 712.
E. The court may authorize, with the consent of the state, continued implementation of a safety plan prior to the adjudication if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the child is in need of care and that the continued implementation of the safety plan is necessary for the health, welfare, and safety of the child. The safety plan shall continue to set forth conditions as determined or agreed upon by the state as necessary for the protection of the health, welfare, and safety of the child while remaining in the home.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 449, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 567, §1; Acts 2014, No. 486, §1; Acts 2022, No. 272, §1.