SUBPART C. FATHERHOOD FIRST INITIATIVE

§261. Fatherhood first initiative; establishment

A. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, to the extent that funds are available and appropriated by the legislature, shall establish a program to be known as the "Fatherhood First 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.

(7) Promote public education and increase public awareness of resources for the following areas:

(a) Substance abuse and addiction.

(b) Anger management and conflict resolution.

(c) Fiscal awareness and financial literacy.

(d) Parenting skills, child development, and family studies.

B. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services shall convene and chair a Fatherhood First Council. The secretary shall convene the council no later than October 1, 2013. The secretary shall seek the advice and participation of any person, organization, or state or federal agency deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this Section. The secretary may designate a working group from among the members of the council to carry out specific duties required pursuant to this Section.

C. The Fatherhood First Council shall perform the following functions:

(1) Develop a comprehensive plan to promote the positive involvement and interaction of fathers with their children.

(2) Conduct an evaluation of state programs, government policies, and community initiatives relative to fatherhood.

(3) Advise the secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services on the development of a fatherhood research and demonstration program relative to design, implementation, and evaluation pursuant to this Section.

D. The membership of the council shall be appointed by the secretary and shall include but not be limited to:

(1) The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services or his designee.

(2) The secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission or his designee.

(3) The superintendent of the Department of Education or his designee.

(4) The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or his designee.

(5) Two representatives of the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board.

(6) One representative of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association.

(7) One representative of a local workforce development board.

(8) One representative of the clergy.

(9) One representative of the New Orleans Fatherhood Consortium of Loyola University of New Orleans.

(10) One member with expertise in male psychology and health.

(11) One representative of the Second Time Around Grandparents Support Group.

(12) The member of the Louisiana House of Representatives representing House District Number 99 or his designee.

(13) One member of the Louisiana Senate appointed by the president.

E. The Fatherhood First Council shall establish a comprehensive plan for the implementation of the Fatherhood First Initiative and the research and demonstration program. The plan may include but shall not be limited to the following:

(1) A planning process that gathers input from the public through public hearings or other means.

(2) The establishment of an inventory and evaluation of state and federal programs, community initiatives, government policies, and any other services identified that encourage and enhance responsible and skillful parenting through positive involvement and interaction with fathers and those services that increase the ability of fathers to meet the financial and medical needs of their children. In establishing the inventory and evaluation, the council may collect and assess data to determine the scope of concerns, review fatherhood programs in other jurisdictions, identify private, state, and federal funding opportunities, or collect any other information the council deems necessary.

(3) The identification of the services that can be provided to fathers including but not limited to employment services, parenting skills, teen pregnancy prevention services, educational services, child support enforcement services, paternity establishment services, custody and visitation services, conflict management services, family mediation, and any other community-based support programs providing assistance to fathers.

(4) The identification of the characteristics that will be used to target the population to be served in each demonstration program.

(5) A system that establishes mechanisms for voluntary and mandatory access to the services provided in the program for those individuals identified for participation including procedures for establishing and assessing the eligibility of an individual for the services provided in the program and procedures for providing guidance to courts ordering a noncustodial parent's participation in the program in addition to a child support or medical support obligation.

(6) The identification of a case management system for the full range of services offered in the program including mechanisms for referring program participants to community-based support programs.

F. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, in consultation with the secretary 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. The 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. The 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.

(n) Substance abuse and addiction treatment.

(o) Anger management and conflict resolution.

(p) Fiscal awareness and financial literacy.

(q) Parenting skills, child development, and family studies.

G.(1) No later than March 1, 2014, the Fatherhood First Council shall submit an interim report relative to the status of the comprehensive plan established pursuant to this Section to the secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services. The secretary shall add his assessments thereto and present the findings to the House and Senate committees on health and welfare, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance prior to the start of the 2014 Regular Session of the Legislature.

(2) No later than March 1, 2015, the council shall submit a final report to the secretary on the comprehensive plan which may include:

(a) Recommendations for the continued implementation of the Fatherhood First Initiative.

(b) Recommendations for the expansion or statewide implementation of fatherhood programs.

(3) The secretary shall add his assessments thereto and present the findings to the House and Senate committees on health and welfare, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance prior to the start of the 2015 Regular Session of the Legislature.

(4) After the presentation by the secretary to the legislative committees as provided in Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, the department may, to the extent that funds are available and appropriated by the legislature, continue to implement the Fatherhood First Initiative.

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; Acts 2013, No. 322, §1; Acts 2015, No. 426, §3.