DCFS is a vital and critical component of Louisiana’s Child Well-being Infrastructure. Because DCFS is responsible for a significant portion of the Protection, Justice, and Safety Domain of Child Well-being, it must be highly functional and stable. Louisiana needs a plan for child well-being. In recent decades, Louisiana has witnessed DCFS perpetually “fixing” itself. In fact, fixing DCFS is a…
Posts published in “Child Well-being Infrastructure”
Louisiana understands infrastructure. Our land is traversed by pipelines, roads, train tracks, levees, and power lines. We see refineries, chemical plants, bridges, power stations, ports, tank farms, airports … you get the idea. Our infrastructure is everywhere. Sitting on our eroding soil, even our dirt is considered infrastructure. We understand that our state’s commercial infrastructure is a valuable asset. We…
“Ghost” and “phantom networks” describe directories maintained by managed care organizations, listing healthcare providers who are unavailable for their members. However, these networks often include providers who never provided care – or no longer do so – for the plan’s members. Louisiana’s “Ghost” and “Phantom” networks have got to go. Managed care organizations (MCOs) are also called “Medicaid management companies.”…
Mental Health “Boarding” or “psychiatric boarding” occurs when children are kept in a hospital emergency department (“ED”) because the intensive mental health treatment services children require are not available. Boarding, hoteling, and dwelling are related but differ. Hoteling occurs when a state has more children in foster care than can be cared for in the state’s supply of foster homes.…
Louisiana’s Office of Children’s Ombudsman is a missing piece of child well-being infrastructure. I believe the concept of “Child Well-Being Infrastructure” is essential. I think I can explain. Louisiana’s leaders frequently speak about “infrastructure.” As a result, infrastructure is a common topic in Louisiana’s news. For example, a few days ago, the Louisiana Governor’s Office (@LouisianaGov) tweeted that “thanks to…
Between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, the State of Louisiana contracted for $13.4 billion worth of services for citizens. If you search every word and phrase of the Louisiana Division of Administration’s Office of State Procurement’s Annual Report of Professional Services Contracts for the Fiscal Year 2019-2020, you find only eight instances of the phrase “Child abuse.” The…
Note: This article from May, 2013, introduced the ideas that Louisiana lacked sufficient Therapeutic Group Home services for children and that the gap in child well-being infrastructure was negatively impacting child well-being. By its own count, Louisiana needs at least 34 Therapeutic Group Homes (of no more than 8 beds each per DHH) located throughout our state. Today Louisiana has…
Never in Louisiana’s history has our state’s child welfare system been more highly regulated. Never has so much significant change occurred in such a compressed period of time than during the last 18 months. I’ll summarize it like this: We now have federal regulations being interpreted by state regulations to create a coordinated system of behavioral health care from four…
August 28, 2011 – Last week I attended the Summer Workshop of the United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministries – otherwise known as the UMA. The Summer Workshop was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this year. The UMA offered training for EAGLE peer reviewers. EAGLE is the only faith-related accreditation process available to providers of health and social service…