ENROLLED
Page 1 of 3
Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 153
BY REPRESENTATIVE HENRY BURNS
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to pass the
Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013.
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mental
illness is defined as "health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking,
mood, or behavior (or some combination thereof) associated with distress and/or impaired
function"; and
WHEREAS, approximately sixty-one million five hundred thousand Americans
experience mental illness in a given year; and
WHEREAS, approximately thirteen million six hundred thousand Americans live
with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder;
and
WHEREAS, more than eleven million Americans have severe schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, and major depression; and
WHEREAS, one-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of fourteen; and
WHEREAS, fewer than one-third of adults and one-half of children with a diagnosed
mental disorder receive mental health services in a given year; and
WHEREAS, individuals living with mental health challenges and their families soon
discover that the illness affects many aspects of their lives and that they need more than
medical help; and
WHEREAS, many loved ones are left feeling hopeless in receiving effective and
appropriate treatment for their family members who suffer from mental illness; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 153
Page 2 of 3
WHEREAS, there is a need to better allocate current resources to focus on the most
effective services and most severe mental illnesses; and
WHEREAS, it is prudent to promote stronger interagency coordination, increase data
collection on treatment outcomes, and raise efforts to drive evidence-based care; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania has introduced the Helping
Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013 as H.R. 3717; and
WHEREAS, the bill will create within the Department of Health and Human Services
a new assistant secretary for mental health and substance-abuse disorders who would lead
federal mental illness efforts, be responsible for promoting the medically oriented models
of care adopted by the National Institute of Mental Health, and oversee the grant process
while holding community centers accountable by ensuring they are meeting evidence-based
standards; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 3717 would push states to efficiently allocate funds towards
modernizing mental illness state laws and raise support for community mental health centers
and hospital psychiatric care; and
WHEREAS, to address issues regarding the shortage of psychiatric professionals, the
Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013 would advance medical tools like tele-
psychiatry which links primary physicians in underserved areas to psychiatric professionals
in order to decrease the average span of time between an initial episode of psychosis for a
patient and his preliminary evaluation and treatment procedures; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 3717 would give physicians legal safe harbor to volunteer at
understaffed mental health centers; and
WHEREAS, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013 will adjust
the federal privacy law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,
by allowing mental health professionals and families to share information about loved ones
to promote more appropriate and effective treatment procedures.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to pass the
Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013. ENROLLEDHCR NO. 153
Page 3 of 3
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the
United States of America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE