HLS 15RS-4109 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 216
BY REPRESENTATIVE KLECKLEY AND SENATOR ALARIO
COMMENDATIONS: Commends the Louisiana Association of Drug Court Professionals
and the Louisiana Supreme Court drug court program
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To commend the Louisiana Association of Drug Court Professionals and the Louisiana
3 Supreme Court drug court program.
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Supreme Court has been administering drug courts in the
5state since 2001, and drug court judges preside over these dockets in addition to their regular
6dockets without extra compensation; and
7 WHEREAS, drug courts have proven to be a cost effective alternative to
8incarceration for defendants who need substance abuse addiction treatment; and
9 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Supreme Court works with the Louisiana Association of
10Drug Court Professionals (LADCP) to provide educational seminars and training
11opportunities for more than five hundred of Louisiana's drug court professionals; and
12 WHEREAS, the partnership between the LADCP and the Louisiana Supreme Court
13has made Louisiana's drug courts some of the best and most progressive in the country and
14the information on national best practices shared at staff training opportunities has drawn
15interest from drug court professionals in other states; and
16 WHEREAS, nearly five thousand individuals participated in Louisiana drug court
17programs in 2014, and more than eleven thousand five hundred participants have graduated
18from Louisiana drug courts since their inception in 1997; and
19 WHEREAS, statistical data prove that drug courts reduce crime; two years after
20graduation from Louisiana drug courts in 2012, more than ninety percent of the clients had
21no new criminal convictions, and national research has shown significant reductions in
Page 1 of 2 HLS 15RS-4109 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 216
1recidivism for participants in drug courts compared to those sentenced to conventional
2justice intervention; and
3 WHEREAS, for each dollar invested in drug courts, communities receive an average
4of three dollars and thirty-six cents in such benefits as fewer justice system costs through
5reduced recidivism; decreased victimization costs; decreased medical costs; and increased
6worker productivity; and
7 WHEREAS, in Louisiana in 2014, fifty drug courts consisting of thirty adult,
8seventeen juvenile, and three family preservation courts operated in forty-two parishes, and
9of those participating in Louisiana drug courts, an estimated savings of ten million two
10hundred fifty thousand dollars is projected for medical and related expenses that will not
11need to be paid for the forty-one drug-free babies born to drug court clients in 2014; and
12 WHEREAS, successful drug court graduates obtain general education diplomas and
13employment and become contributing members of society; and
14 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Supreme Court drug court program, in conjunction with
15the Louisiana Association of Drug Court Professionals, has helped thousands of citizens and
16families in Louisiana and each of the judges and staff deserves a special measure of
17commendation for their efforts and good works.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
19commend the Louisiana Supreme Court drug court program and the Louisiana Association
20of Drug Court Professionals for the fine work this collaboration has achieved in saving lives,
21reuniting families, and giving hope.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that suitable copies of this Resolution be transmitted
23to the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court and the president of the Louisiana
24Association of Drug Court Professionals.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 216 Original 2015 Regular Session Kleckley
Commends the La. Assoc. of Drug Court Professionals and the La. Supreme Court drug
court program.
Page 2 of 2