Senator Barrow clarifies purpose behind SR 210

Published 2:36 pm Thursday, June 10, 2021

June 10, 2021 – In response to criticism over SR 210, and its potential to lead to intrusive home visits from state departments and what some have called an “invasion of privacy,” State Senator Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, defends her resolution by clarifying the intent and purpose behind it. SR 210 requests the Louisiana Department of Health, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the office of the governor to study voluntary universal home visiting for all families with young children in the state of Louisiana. While the language of the bill has been interpreted by some members of the public as a way for the state to overreach and justify unwarranted visits into the home of Louisiana’s citizens, Sen. Barrow highlights text from the resolution, which states that “Louisiana ranks among the highest states for maternal mortality and lacks equity in access to the services that address the needs of postpartum mothers, and very young children represent the highest percentage of those children taken into the child welfare system.”

Sen. Barrow said, “My intentions for this resolution were never to invade the homes of innocent citizens or to intrude on domestic life for new parents, instead, in looking at how our state is set up to handle postpartum care, not only for children, but for their mothers as well, I found that our standards are simply inadequate, and chose to work toward a solution. Additionally, we intended to provide not only a means of outreach for these new parents, but also for new parents of adopted children. Bringing a child into the home, regardless of the situation, is a major change, and this resolution was meant to provide support for parents and for young children.”

SR 210 failed to pass in the Louisiana Senate with a vote of 22 nays and 13 yeas. For more information, please contact the office of Senator Regina Barrow at 225-359-9400.