BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) -- A task force at the Louisiana Capitol is aimed at improving the process of investigating child sexual abuse. One state senator is looking for better communication between the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services and law enforcement. DCFS has worked to bolster its staffing, especially when it comes to its call intake center. A legislative panel looked at when DCFS doesn’t usually investigate a case of abuse if it is not being done by a guardian of the child and found there are some communication breakdowns when those cases are passed to local law enforcement. “A lot of children suffer when it comes to criminal investigations because of the barrier of how long it takes for this child to be interviewed. Any time a child is taken so long, there could be many barriers,” Director of Forensic Interviewing at Gingerbread House Lacie Hadley said. “Now they're being coached, now they're being manipulated, and now they're being told, 'Don't tell anyone anymore,' or 'No one responded so I'm just gonna give up.'” Louisiana enacts major tax reforms: Sales tax hike, income tax cut Representatives from DCFS said differing law enforcement agencies want the cases to be reported in different ways which could lead to delays in getting the child addressed. “This is not a good excuse. This is just not good… I'm just saying this is a breakdown and it's a problem. And it's a problem that's leading to bigger problems because it was not addressed quicker or sooner. Which may lead to a child dying, which could have been avoided,” state Sen. Regina Barrow said. Despite more staff being hired in recent years, the call intake center needs more people to handle high call volume and further training to determine when a case is taken on by DCFS or passed to local law enforcement. “If you have 100 calls come in and I have 30 staff, there's going to start being cumulative delays. That is very hard for me to watch, our managers to watch, our supervisors, all of us,” Child Welfare Manager Denise Evans said. Louisiana black bear hunting season is back after decades-long ban DCFS reported having about 52 employees working the call center, which is operating 24/7. There will be more testimony and research into the issue before legislation for the 2025 regular session is formulated. Barrow also commented that she wants the state budget to reflect Louisiana wanting to prioritize helping children. Latest News Orca seen wearing a salmon hat for first time since 1980s. Why do they do it? LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier returning for senior year with the Tigers Lawmakers edge closer to deal on government funding Louisiana Ten Commandments law defended by AG in federal appeals court SEC coaches pick Sampson, Kennard as players of the year and Beamer as top coach