2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 46 — Public welfare and assistance
RS 46:261 — Fatherhood initiative; establishment

SUBPART C. FATHERHOOD INITIATIVE

§261. Fatherhood initiative; establishment

A. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, within available appropriations, shall establish a program to be known as the "Fatherhood Initiative". This program shall promote the positive involvement and interaction of fathers with their children with an emphasis on children eligible or formerly eligible for services funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. This program shall identify those services that effectively encourage and enhance responsible and skillful parenting and those services that increase the ability of fathers to meet the financial and medical needs of their children through employment services and child support enforcement measures. The objectives of the program shall be to:

(1) Promote public education concerning the financial and emotional responsibilities of fatherhood.

(2) Assist men in preparation for the legal, financial, and emotional responsibilities of fatherhood.

(3) Promote the establishment of paternity at childbirth.

(4) Encourage fathers, regardless of marital status, to foster their emotional connections to and financial support of their children.

(5) Establish support mechanisms for fathers in their relationships with their children, regardless of their marital and financial status.

(6) Integrate state and local services available for families.

B - E. Repealed by Acts 2005, No. 428, §3, eff. July 1, 2005.

F. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, in consultation with the executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, shall establish a research and demonstration program that specifically evaluates the effectiveness and outcomes of services provided to fathers. The research and demonstration program shall be administered in not more than three research and demonstration sites from specific geographic regions or judicial districts and no more than one hundred fathers may participate in each site. The research and demonstration sites shall have an ability to:

(1) Utilize existing local, state, and federal resources.

(2) Collaborate with broad-based constituencies representing schools, municipal entities, nonprofit organizations, and other neighborhood, religious, health, and community organizations.

(3) Provide a safe, caring environment for participants. Such sites shall have experience serving the targeted population. Each site shall provide services that recognize the cultural diversity of the population served. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services shall seek assistance in evaluating the effectiveness and outcomes from an institution of higher education, a consortium of institutes of higher education, or another qualified entity. Such evaluation shall measure the effectiveness and outcomes of services in the following areas:

(a) Child support and medical support.

(b) Job placement and retention.

(c) Increased earnings.

(d) Increased visitation.

(e) Family reunification.

(f) Paternity establishment or adjudication.

(g) The need of a custodial parent for public and medical assistance.

(h) Teen pregnancy prevention.

(i) Effect on fathers under the age of twenty-three years.

(j) Low-income or unemployed fathers.

(k) Educational levels.

(l) Measures of emotional involvement of fathers.

(m) The overall cost effectiveness, including a cost-benefit analysis of the services provided on an aggregate and case-by-case basis.

G. Repealed by Acts 2005, No. 428, §3, eff. July 1, 2005.

Acts 2001, No. 639, §1; Acts 2003, No. 1068, §7, eff. July 2, 2003; Acts 2005, No. 428, §3, eff. July 1, 2005; Acts 2008, No. 743, §7, eff. July 1, 2008.