Art. 672. Care and treatment by department
A.(1) Whenever custody of a child is assigned to the Department of Children and
Family Services, the child shall be assigned to the custody of the department rather than to
a particular placement setting. The department shall have authority over the placement
within its resources and the allocation of other available resources within the department for
children judicially committed to its custody.
(2) Upon motion of the court, for good cause shown, a contradictory hearing shall
be held and thereafter, the presiding judge shall have the authority to disapprove a placement
chosen by the department if it is not in the best interest of the child and shall issue a written
order that the department choose a more suitable placement with reasons supporting the
court's decision.
B. The court shall not divide legal and physical custody whenever assigning custody
to a department in accordance with this Article, Articles 619, 622, 627, 681, 700, or 716, or
any other statute or provision of law. The court shall specify other public agencies or
institutions that have legal or financial responsibility, or both, to provide their particular
services identified at disposition or subsequent case review. Placing custody of a child with
one state department shall not remove the obligation of any other state department to provide
services to that child from their resources for which the child is eligible under state or federal
statute or state or federal appropriation, including but not limited to twenty-four-hour care.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 634, §1, eff. June 15, 1993;
Acts 1993, No. 866, §1; eff. June 23, 1993; Acts 1997, No. 612, §1; Acts 1997, No. 671, §1,
eff. July 7, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 567, §1; Acts 2018, No. 189, §1.