BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Fatherhood Task Force on Wednesday proposed bipartisan recommendations to address challenges to fatherhood, including modifying the state’s child custody laws and instituting paid family medical leave for educators.

Bills have been filed in both the Senate and the House to modify child custody laws to emphasize the importance of shared legal and physical custody and establish paid family medical leave for teachers.

A future bill will seek to establish a standing Commission on Fatherhood Engagement, which would advance fatherhood legislative agendas.

The task force addressed fatherhood engagement in children’s and partner’s lives and the lack of overall support from the state.

“Louisiana faces significant challenges because in more than a third of Louisiana households with children, there’s no father present,” Gov. Jeff Landry said at a press conference. “This absence harms our children and harms our state.

“When fathers are involved in the lives of their children, those children are more likely to graduate high school, enter college, or find a stable job,” Landry added.

Two Senate bills were mentioned at Wednesday’s press conference. One, by Sen. Gregory Miller, R-Norco, would allow for the modification of custody agreements within five years of the date of the original agreement based on parental fitness and the safety of the child or children.

The second bill, proposed by Sen. Samuel Jenkins, D-Shreveport, would create the Paid Parental Leave for Educators Fund, which would allow fathers and mothers who are educators in Louisiana to receive six weeks of paid parental leave for circumstances such as child birth, the adoption of a child or pregnancy loss.

The task force also mentioned a House bill proposed by Rep. Kyle Green, D-Marrero, that would make adjustments to child support and custody, particularly in the amount of child support a parent must pay being determined by their income.

It also would detail adjustments to visitation rights, legal and physical custody and allows joint custody to be debated in court should there be an issue with the prior agreement.

Louisiana has one of the highest rates of male incarceration in the nation and ranks 49th overall for fatherhood engagement in child welfare. More than 56% of recent Louisiana fathers have no more than a high school diploma.

The Fatherhood Task Force is led by co-chairs Marcus Thomas of the Governor’s Office and Levar Robinson of Fathers on a Mission, assisted by Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans.

Duplessis established the task force under Senate Concurrent Resolution 9. He said he foresees legislative changes to address fatherhood engagement. He said fatherhood engagement is a bipartisan concern.

“This task force may have done more work in a shorter period of time than any other I've seen in my eight years serving as a state legislator, and I'll say that in front of any other task force that I've ever seen,” Duplessis said.

The budget for the suggested initiative is not yet determined. But the task force promoted the return on investment for fatherhood initiatives in other states.

The Fatherhood Research & Practice Network, a national project previously funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, estimated that a father’s successful participation in a Responsible Fatherhood program, which includes GED programming, professional development, parenting education and diversion services as alternatives to incarceration, has a monetary value of $177,000 per father and about $32,000 to $38,000 per child.

Other states such as Florida and Ohio have instituted the Responsible Fatherhood Initiative under their state Fatherhood Commissions, which inspired Louisiana’s own task force recommendations.

In 2025, the Ohio state Senate allocated $20 million to support the Responsible Fatherhood Initiative. Similarly, in 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approved nearly $70 million for the state to support educational programming, support for responsible fatherhood and statewide awareness.

“We know that the state's budget is tight, but investing in fathers being there for their kids is a no-brainer, and it pays significant dividends,” Duplessis said.

Other task force recommendations include fatherhood programming through state agencies with a focus on effective parenting between parents during pregnancy, improving data collection on fathers and fatherhood engagement within state agencies, and establishing housing and shelter priorities for fathers with minor children.

Andre Apparicio, vice chair of the task force and a representative from Dad-A-Port, a Louisiana-based organization working to empower fathers, said there is a significant lack of support for fathers during pregnancy.

He said the task force has been working with the state’s Department of Corrections to expand reentry services beyond finding a job. He emphasized the reunification of families as a vital aspect of fatherhood engagement and a potential pipeline to employment.

Apparicio reflected on the time his children spent in the neonatal intensive care unit following premature births.

“One thing that stayed with me during that time was something simple – there was not always a chair for fathers, figuratively or literally,” Apparicio said. “That missing chair reminded me that dads are often present but not always supported."

The state will hold Fathers’ Day at the Capitol on April 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.