Residential Care and Special Population Licensing

Download the license application forms (initial application and renewal).
Current licensing fees
Forms
Incident Reporting

The completed application form and applicable fees should be submitted to:

DCFS Licensing
PO Box 3078
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Phone: (225) 342-4350
FAX: (225) 663-3166

Residential Home

Residential homes are any place, facility, or home operated by any institution, society, agency, corporation, person or persons, or any other group to provide full-time care, 24 hours per day, for more than four children, who may remain at the facility in accordance with R.S. 46:1403.1, who are not related to the operators and, except as provided in this Paragraph, whose parents or guardians are not residents of the same facility, with or without transfer of custody. However, a child of a person who is a resident of a residential home may reside with that parent at the same facility.

Maternity Home

Maternity homes are any place in which any person, society, agency, corporation, or facility receives, treats or cares for within a period of six months, more than one illegitimately pregnant woman, either before, during or within two weeks after childbirth. This definition shall not include any place or facility which receives and provides services for women who receive maternity care in the home of a relative within the sixth degree of kindred, computed according to civil law, or general or special hospitals in which maternity treatment and care is part of the medical services performed and the care of children only brief and incidental.

Child Placing Agencies with Subprograms of:

Foster Care Services - a child placing agency that places children into an approved family foster home for a planned period of substitute care when their own families cannot or will not care for them. Substitute Family Care Programs are no longer licensed by the Department of Children & Family Services
Adoption Services - a child-placing agency that places children in a family household of one or more persons that has been approved by the agency to accept a child for adoption.
Transitional Placing Services - a program that places youth, at least 16 years of age, in an independent living situation supervised by a provider with the goal of preparing the youth for living independently without supervision.

Licensing Requirements

The licensing regulations for the programs listed below are available online by selecting a program type.

Facilities Licensed by DCFS

Click here to view a list of licensed facilities.

Note: Legislation passed during the 2023 Regular Legislative Session (HB 523-Act 445) transferred the licensing and regulation of juvenile detention facilities to the State of Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) effective July 1, 2024. You may contact OJJ at (225) 287-7900.

Visit the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice for additional information.

Note: Legislation passed during the 2014 Regular Legislative Session (SB 524-Act 868) transferred the licensing and regulation of child day care centers to the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) effective October 1, 2014. You may contact LDOE at (225) 342-9905.

Visit the Louisiana Department of Education's website for additional information.

Note: Legislation passed during the 2009 Regular Legislative Session (HB 728-Act 381) transferred the licensing and regulation of adult residential care homes to DHH. Physical transfer of programs took place in July 2010. You may contact DHH Health Standards at (225) 342-0138.

Visit the Louisiana Department of Health's website for additional Information.