DCFS outlines reorganization and new second shift staffing to speed child-safety responses

Brett Haneman, Assistant Secretary of Child Welfare at the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, told the task force the agency is reorganizing "to become a truly child centered agency" and is adding staff and process changes intended to shorten response times for reports accepted for investigation. "Yes, ma'am. So we are starting a second shift," Haneman said, adding the plan is to start the shift Sept. 15 and onboard 53 workers to cover afternoons through midnight. The department said it added a financial incentive of $4 per hour for second-shift hires to attract more experienced candidates.

DCFS said its intake changes and new alternative-response model are intended to address reports of child-on-child incidents and to clarify when DCFS or law enforcement should lead investigations. Agency staff told the task force that, in the first 10 days after the law took effect, 10 reports were accepted for alleged child-on-child incidents among children who reside in the same home; the department said there were no accepted reports from school settings in that initial window. The department told the panel it will make initial face-to-face contact for alternative-response cases within five days, and that a standard assessment window for alternative response will be 60 days; cases with parental culpability will be re-assigned to investigators for formal investigation.

Haneman said DCFS has begun updating public materials, training staff statewide and working with the state Office of Technology Services (OTS) to create the IT and workflow links needed for the new notification and registry checks. He said about 42% of DCFS staff will transition to the Louisiana Department of Health and Louisiana Workforce Commission under the state's "one door" initiative on Oct. 1 and that technology and payroll transitions are underway. Task-force members asked for monthly intake-volume reports and regional breakdowns; DCFS staff committed to provide region-level data and to present system dashboards and implementation progress at the next meeting.

Why it matters: The second shift and reorganization are intended to address previously identified gaps in response coverage and case follow-up. DCFS officials said they are tracking intake performance and will report both counts and regional patterns to the task force, which delegated follow-up on implementation timelines and staffing metrics to the next meeting.