Downloadable PDF Version: Revitalizing Child Welfare Services in Louisiana: an Open Letter
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Revitalizing Child Welfare Services in Louisiana: An Open Letter
Dear Honorable Members of the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children, Members of the Louisiana Legislature, Secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, and Governor of Louisiana,
In 20 years, Louisiana’s Executive Budget has increased by 231% in nominal dollars. In contrast, during the same period, Louisiana’s budget for Child Welfare Services has decreased by 3%.1, 2
Louisiana’s state budget has outpaced inflation. However, with a 3% decrease in nominal funding, if one considers the impact of inflation, Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services in FY 2026-2027 are funded at only 60% of their value in FY 2006-2007.
Acknowledging Louisiana’s dramatic reduction in Child Welfare funding makes it easier to understand why the quality of our state’s Child Welfare Services suffers. The Center for Child Well-being believes insufficient funding for Child Welfare Services largely explains why a string of DFCS Secretaries combined with the Legislature’s increased oversight have not been able to right the ship.
Each year, Louisiana becomes more and more the textbook case for other states to study regarding what happens when Child Welfare Services are chronically underfunded. Unfortunately, for Louisiana’s children, the results are direct: when Child Welfare Services struggle or fail, Louisiana’s children pay the price.
Child Welfare Services and DCFS Are Not Synonymous
When horrible news is released about the death of a “DCFS-involved” child, the Department of Children and Family Services (“DCFS”) is the agency name we read in the newspapers. Most do not consider that when we see “DCFS” in the news related to a child’s death or injury, or read about the shortage of foster homes for children, or hear about the churn of DCFS staff, these events are happening below the public surface of DCFS.
Citizens’ concerns about the protection of children are directly related to Child Welfare Services. The distinction between DCFS and Child Welfare Services matters. We suggest that the Legislature, DCFS, and the Press distinguish between Child Welfare Services instead of the umbrella agency, DCFS. We believe children may benefit when Child Welfare Services becomes the intentional focus.
Political Attention and Political Support Are Not Synonymous
Political attention and political support are not the same thing. Rightly, the Louisiana Legislature gives significant attention to DCFS, yet funding slides. We believe the attention DCFS has received from governors and the legislature, while at the same time, funding for Child Welfare Services declined to nearly half its real value compared to twenty years ago clearly demonstrates the difference between attention and support.
Until Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services have both attention and support, we believe elected officials will only attend to the continuing demise of the state’s child welfare system. Funding for Child Welfare Services must be sufficient to meet the needs of Louisiana’s children.
Child Welfare Funding in Louisiana: FY 2006-2007 and FY 2026-2027
A comparison of the state budgets for FY 2006-2007 and FY 2026-2027 provides compelling evidence that the growing problems of DCFS in recent years are likely a consequence of Louisiana’s failure to properly fund Child Welfare Services. The following chart compares the State of Louisiana’s budgets and Child Welfare Services budgets from 2006 and 2026:
In nominal dollars, Louisiana’s budget grew from $20.2 billion in FY 2006-2007 to $46.9 billion in FY 2026-2027, representing a nominal increase of $26.6 billion or a 231% increase. During the same period, Louisiana’s budget for Child Welfare Services decreased by 3%.
The state’s Child Welfare Services budget in FY 2006-2007 was $440,952,152 and in FY 2026-2027 was $429,839,142. Louisiana’s budget for Child Welfare Services in 2026 is $11 million less than it was in 2006.
How does this make sense? Louisiana’s budget grew by 231%, while expenditures on Child Welfare Services have been cut by 3%. Again, these values are in nominal dollars.
The chart above also shows the impact of inflation since FY 2006-2007 on the current funding for Child Welfare Services. The hit is huge.
Using the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) as a general measure of inflation, the growth of Louisiana’s state budget from 2006 to 2026 outpaced inflation by 141%. This is good. Unfortunately, the story of Louisiana’s funding for Child Welfare Services is very different.
By the same measure of inflation that pleases us about our state budget’s better-than-inflation growth, Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services are now at only 60% of breaking even compared FY 2006-2007. Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services require increased support.
The Expectations of Child Welfare Services Have Not Changed
One might imagine that the duties and expectations of Child Welfare Services have changed since 2006. They have not.
While real funding in 2026 is 40% short of 2006, the expectations of Child Welfare Services are the same today as they were twenty years ago.
In Louisiana’s 2006 Annual Progress and Service Report3 submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Louisiana Department of Social Services (DSS, now DCFS) reported that the major service components of Louisiana’s “Child Welfare Continuum” included Child Protection Services, Prevention and Family Services, Foster Care Services, and Adoption Services.
Today, the Louisiana DCFS Fiscal Year 2026 Business Plan: Forward, Together4 states that the Division of Child Welfare “is responsible for safeguarding children through the investigation of abuse and neglect, management of foster care placements, and facilitating adoption services.” Note: The only 2006 Child Welfare work missing from the current DCFS Business Plan is the prevention of child abuse.
In 2006 and 2026, Louisiana’s goals for Child Welfare Services are nearly the same. Logically, the funding should reflect this.
It is not surprising that prevention services have been dropped from the Louisiana DCFS Fiscal Year 2026 Business Plan. We believe Louisiana’s reduced emphasis on prevention is a consequence of the struggles DCFS faces with crises resulting from declining financial support.
DCFS ended supportive funding for its former prevention partner Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana in 2018, and during a June 2025 meeting, a former Secretary reported that foster care crises prevented attention on prevention. To that point, the 2026 Business Plan contains the word ‘prevent’ only once, in reference to future delays (page 22), and uses the word ‘prevention’ only one time in the name of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (page 9).
The general mission and purposes of Child Welfare Services remain the same across the nation. In Louisiana, aside from preventing child abuse, the expectations and techniques of child welfare work have changed very little in twenty years. Except for prevention services, DSS twenty years ago and DCFS today have reported that our state’s Child Welfare Services remain the same.
Today, with funding effectively reduced from 2006 by 40%, Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services may be our state’s perfect example of “do more with less.”
The Twenty-Year History of Child Welfare Funding in Louisiana
With a state budget that significantly outruns inflation, one would expect funding for Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services would at least keep pace with inflation. This is not the case today, nor has it been the case in Louisiana during any of the last twenty years.
In every published Louisiana budget containing line items for Child Welfare Services since FY 2006-2007, funding has lagged inflation. The chart below demonstrates.
The dark green bars represent the actual Child Welfare Services budgeted expenditures, and the light green bars represent the amount required each year to keep pace with inflation. In nominal dollars, FY 2026-2027 is $11 million less than FY 2006-2007, and in real dollars relative to 2006-2007, funds for Child Welfare Services lag by roughly $280 million.
As an aside, seeing the unreported Child Welfare Services funding during the Jindal gap may remind some of the launch of Bayou Health (now Healthy Louisiana). Some may incorrectly imagine that during this transition period, the load on Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services was reduced when Medicaid began paying for the care of some foster children.
During the Jindal era, the load on Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services was not reduced, but increased. In June 2010, DSS had 4,739 children in care. By September 2015, the number peaked at 4,875 in foster care, and in June 2016, there were 4,743 children in foster care.5
The data for the chart on the previous page is attached as History of Louisiana’s Funding of Child Welfare Services – FY 2006-2007 through FY 2026-2027. There you will see the details and data sources.
Louisiana cannot continue ignoring its responsibility to properly fund Child Welfare Services. Rather than agonizing in frustration with the current status of Louisiana’s Child Welfare Services, elected officials could choose to revitalize Child Welfare Services with proper funding, attention, and support.
Louisiana’s Elected Officials Must Support Our State’s Child Welfare Services
Using Louisiana’s budget documents from 2006 through 2026, we believe we have demonstrated that insufficient funding may be the primary reason Louisiana struggles to perform Child Welfare Services. While Child Welfare Services receive attention, they must receive support.
We believe historic and continued underfunding explains the lack of quality and capacity for which DCFS was once nationally accredited and why our children are at risk of interventions that seem too little and too late. We have also demonstrated that political attention is not the same as political support.
The Center for Child Well-being urges Louisiana’s governors and legislatures, today and in the future, to ensure financial support is sufficient to maintain the Child Welfare Services necessary to protect the lives and well-being of Louisiana’s children.
Sincerely,
Rick Wheat
Director, MCH Center for Child Well-being
https://www.CenterForChildWellbeing.com
References
1. State of Louisiana, Governor’s Executive Budget, Fiscal Year 2007-2008. Retrieved 07/02/2026 from https://www.doa.la.gov/media/cnwhs1h2/fy08executivebudget.pdf
2. State of Louisiana, 2026 HB1 Engrossed. Retrieved 07/08/2026 from https://legiscan.com/LA/text/HB1/id/3417298/Louisiana-2026-HB1-Engrossed.pdf
3. State of Louisiana, 2006 Annual Progress and Services Report, Page 32, 33. Retrieved 07/11/2020 from http://www.dss.louisiana.gov/assets/docs/searchable/OCS/reporting/LA_APSR_2006.pdf
4. Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. Fiscal Year 2026 Business Plan: Forward, Together. Retrieved 08/20/2025 from https://dcfs.louisiana.gov/wp-content/uploads/migrated-assets/documents/LA-DCFS-25-26-Business-Plan-final.pdf
5. Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. DCFS By the Numbers. Monthly data retrieved August 2010, November 2015, and July 2016, from https://dcfs.la.gov.