La. Ch. Code art. 704
This is the official text of La. Ch. Code art. 704, part of Louisiana’s Children's Code — governs child custody, child protection, and juvenile justice in Louisiana.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Notice; absent parents
Official statutory text
A. The court shall permit a permanency hearing to be held in the absence of a parent if it is established on the record that the parent was served but is not in attendance or that efforts to serve the parent have been unsuccessful.
B. If reunification with the absent parent is the case plan goal, the department shall make continuing diligent efforts to locate the absent parent and notify him of the nature and outcome of the dispositional review hearing and shall promptly inform the court of any known or discovered address. Otherwise, the department shall promptly inform the court of any new address of an absent parent that becomes known through the case planning process.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 449, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2006, No. 248, §1.
B. If reunification with the absent parent is the case plan goal, the department shall make continuing diligent efforts to locate the absent parent and notify him of the nature and outcome of the dispositional review hearing and shall promptly inform the court of any known or discovered address. Otherwise, the department shall promptly inform the court of any new address of an absent parent that becomes known through the case planning process.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 449, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2006, No. 248, §1.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a child custody matter in Louisiana?
See all Louisiana Child Custody lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.