Act 552 for Parents

Louisiana Act 552 of 2024 took effect on August 1, 2024. Introduced as HB 236 on the recommendation of the Louisiana State Law Institute, it revised rules for mental health evaluations and established a separate statute for court ordered child custody evaluations.

This guide explains the statutory safeguards and questions a parent can raise with counsel or the court. The court still decides the issues in an individual case.

Which evaluation is being ordered?

R.S. 9:331 covers a mental health evaluation of a parent or child. R.S. 9:331.3 covers a child custody evaluation. Both require good cause for a court ordered evaluation and contain safeguards for expert evidence. Ask the court to identify the kind and scope of the evaluation and the law governing it.

Check the evaluator’s qualifications

A custody evaluator must be a licensed mental health professional as defined by R.S. 9:331. The custody statute generally requires at least five evaluations completed under another court ordered custody evaluator’s direct supervision. A professional who completed at least five court ordered custody evaluations before August 1, 2024 is exempt from that supervision requirement. R.S. 9:331.3(A), (B).

When domestic abuse is an issue, the evaluator must have current and demonstrable training and experience with perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse. Ask how those qualifications are established. R.S. 9:331.3(D).

Ask for the report and its limits

The custody evaluator must give the parties a written report explaining the basis for the conclusions and recommendations and how limitations in the information affect reliability and validity. The evaluator’s findings receive no presumption in their favor. R.S. 9:331.3(F), (G).

Obtain the file and challenge the evidence

All parties have a right to full pretrial discovery of the evaluator’s entire case file, including a deposition. The evaluator serves as a witness subject to cross examination. Opinion testimony remains subject to Louisiana Code of Evidence Articles 702 and 703. R.S. 9:331.3(H), (J)(1), (J)(4).

Testing, diagnoses, principles, and concepts must meet the statute’s requirements for empirical support and acceptance as valid and reliable for the issues evaluated. Polygraphs, voice stress analysis, and similar physiological measures are excluded. These provisions permit scrutiny of an opinion’s basis; an evaluator’s title does not resolve whether particular evidence is admissible. R.S. 9:331.3(J)(6), (7).

Raise inability to pay early

The court must consider the parties’ ability to pay when allocating evaluation costs. The statute also says an indigent parent cannot be denied the opportunity to depose, cross examine, or otherwise challenge the evaluator in the same manner as a parent who is not indigent. Deposition fees and costs fall within Code of Civil Procedure Article 5185. R.S. 9:331.3(E), (J)(5).

Ask what process the court requires to establish indigency and obtain the necessary cost arrangements before a deposition or hearing. The statute does not mean every service is automatically free or that every request is automatically granted.

Keep roles and communications clear

A custody evaluator conducting an evaluation under this law may not undertake another role or function involving the parties or children. Licensing and ethical rules still apply. R.S. 9:331.3(J)(2), (3).

The law restricts communications between a party or attorney and the court appointed evaluator outside the other side’s participation, subject to its stated exceptions. Written communications and attachments must be shared contemporaneously. Evaluator initiated communications needed to conduct the evaluation are treated separately. R.S. 9:331.3(I).

Questions to take to a lawyer or hearing

• What good cause and scope support the evaluation?
• Which statutory qualifications does the evaluator meet?
• When will the report and complete case file be available?
• How can deposition, cross examination, and evidentiary objections be addressed before the court relies on the opinion?
• What arrangements preserve these opportunities if a parent cannot pay?

Why reform work continues

The Institute seeks effective enforcement of these safeguards, especially for parents who cannot afford expert discovery. The existence of a protection and whether a court follows it are separate questions. Any claim that a court failed to comply should be assessed against the actual order, record, and applicable law.

Get Reform Updates to follow the Institute’s work on Louisiana custody safeguards.

Read the sources

Act 552 of 2024, enacted text
Current custody evaluation statute, R.S. 9:331.3

Prepared October 14, 2026 from the enacted Act and current statutory text.