Louisiana Lawmakers Press DCFS to Restore Lapsed Tulane Foster Care Contract
Louisiana's Department of Children and Family Services let a 30-year contract with Tulane's Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health lapse at the end of September after more than a year of failed negotiations, prompting state lawmakers to press DCFS Secretary Rebecca Harris to resolve the impasse. The dispute centers on DCFS's demand for pre-approval before Tulane provides psychiatric services to foster children, which Harris says would prevent the state from paying for care that should be billed to Medicaid; Tulane's Dr. Charles Zeanah argues the requirement ignores real-time clinical needs. Tulane, funded through a federal child welfare grant plus matching funds, will continue serving its current 15 families but is not accepting new cases until the contract is resolved. Harris also cited an April legislative audit finding DCFS spent over $20 million on services Medicaid might have covered, though the audit called that determination unclear.