Search results for child care
Child in Need of Care Cases
The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) starts Child in Need of Care (CINC) cases when they determine that a child has experienced some form of neglect. While the goal of CINC cases is "reunification," or having the child go home, parents need to know about the CINC process and parental rights and responsibilities during the process.
Financial Assistance For Caring For A Relative's Child - The Kinship Care Subsidy Program (KCSP)
A relative must obtain legal guardianship of the child if the relative is responsible for the child's physical and emotional needs, as well as for making important decisions about the child's care.
Foster Care: Who's Looking Out for Me?
Two-video series gives an introduction to the court system and Child In Need of Care (CINC) proceedings and an introduction to foster care.
Child Abuse And Neglect
This information covers an overview of the risk factors, symptoms, and signs of child abuse and neglect. If you know a Louisiana child is being abused or neglected, call toll-free 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 855-4LA-KIDS (855-452-5437)
Child Support
Child support is a payment that one parent pays to the other for the financial support of the children. It is usually paid by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent. It may also include medical, dental, and other forms of insurance premiums.
Child Welfare Services in Louisiana
Child welfare services in Louisiana are provided by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). These services include foster care, adoption, family preservation, and family reunification services. They also provide services to help strengthen families, such as in-home counseling, parenting education and support, and other supportive services. DCFS also provides home visits and assessments to ensure the safety and well-being of children in Louisiana.
Understanding the Best Interest of the Child
Louisiana courts use the "best interest of the child" standard to determine custody. This article lays out the factors that make up the "best interest of the child" test used by the courts and explains how the factors can influence a judge's decision on custody.
Child Support Guidelines For Calculation And Enforcement
This concerns the guidelines that Louisiana has set as rules for how child support arrangements are calculated and enforced. This includes the financial models that Louisiana establishes for child support, based on income or needs.
Louisiana's Safe Haven Law- Giving Care of Your Newborn to the State
Parents have a safe and legal way to give the care of their newborn to the state, without fear of criminal prosecution. The parent can seek to reclaim parental rights within 30 days by contacting the local DCFS office.
Modifying Child Support
This concerns whether and how a parent can modify a child support order or arrangement. It also concerns how the other parent can respond to an attempt to modify the arrangement.
Kinship Navigator - Tutorship in Louisiana
Tutorship is when a person is legally responsible for caring for a minor child and has been appointed by a court to be the child's tutor. Guardianship is the term used in every other state for tutorship. You will even see it in many Louisiana laws. However, in Louisiana, someone can only officially be named a guardian in a Child in Need of Care Proceeding (See CINC/ Guardianship Fact Sheet).
Child Custody Dictionary
A plain-language guide to understanding words used in child custody cases. Click on the terms to see the definitions and find links to in-depth articles explaining more complicated issues.
Child Custody and Juvenile Court Jurisdiction
When there is an open juvenile court case, a parent or guardian should know that the district court judge deciding a divorce or custody case may have limited power to make orders relating to the child who is subject to the juvenile court case. As this article explains, the juvenile court judge will still have the power to make orders relating to custody in certain kinds of cases.
A Guide to Child Custody in Louisiana
This comprehensive guide to child custody in Louisiana covers: Understanding Child Custody, Establishing Child Custody, Modifying Child Custody, and Exercising + Enforcing Child Custody. The guide includes information on paternity, relocation, contempt, failure to exercise or allow custody, the standards for changing child custody judgments, and much more.
Modifying or Changing Child Custody Judgments
This resource explains when the law allows a party to ask for a change in a custody judgment. It also discusses the reasons why the Court might agree to make the change and the different standards that apply to consent judgments versus considered judgments of custody.