BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The head of Louisiana’s Department of Children and Family Services resigned Thursday, nearly two weeks after a second child died in Baton Rouge due to a fentanyl overdose — despite a warning to check on the baby, 10 days before their death.
Following the death of the 20-month-old — occurring just four months after a 2-year-old also died from fentanyl, even though doctors flagged risks to the child’s safety — outraged lawmakers called for the resignation of the department’s Secretary, Marketa Garner Walters.
Walters, who was first appointed to the position by Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2016, told The Advocate in early November that she had no plans to resign and would serve as long as the governor supports her.
Edwards announced Thursday, in a press release, that he had accepted the resignation of Walters who he said worked tirelessly to improve the state’s foster system and was “fueled by her passion to create a better future for all children and families across Louisiana.” The governor appointed Terri Porche Ricks, currently a deputy secretary, as the agency’s acting secretary.
“There is no denying that child welfare agencies nationwide are facing very difficult and complex challenges and Louisiana is no exception. Those issues include staff retention, high worker caseloads, increased substance and domestic abuse, and sadly the tragic deaths of innocent children,” Edwards said. “While there are no quick solutions, it is urgent that we find new and effective ways of addressing the problems to make certain we provide the help our families need and deserve and to move our agency forward.”
Edwards added that the state has “engaged” a third-party expert organization to do a “top-to-bottom review” of the department and make recommendations on improvements to policies, practices and personnel to ensure “we are serving the children and families of Louisiana in the manner they deserve.”
For months lawmakers and residents have demanded reforms in the department, which is tasked with keeping children safe.
Walters had acknowledged in news conferences and legislative testimony that the agency is in crisis, with an understaffing crisis while reports of abuse and neglect across Louisiana increase. In total, the department has more than 400 vacancies, with 174 of them in the agency’s child welfare department alone.
