2016 First Extraordinary Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 3
BY SENATORS GATTI AND PEACOCK AND REPRESENTATIVES HORTON AND
MIKE JOHNSON
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend and recognize the Steve Hoyle Intensive Substance Abuse Program for its
success in shortening the sentences of certain offenders, while better preparing those
offenders to reintegrate into their families and communities without a return to
substance abuse and incarceration.
WHEREAS, the Steve Hoyle Intensive Substance Abuse Program (SHISAP) and the
accompanying Family Recovery Program have received a prestigious award from the Ash
Center for Democratic Government and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University, as part of its Bright Ideas program; and
WHEREAS, this award recognizes the efforts and successes of the Louisiana
programs in treating and supporting offenders and their families; and
WHEREAS, the tandem concerns of substance abuse among offenders and the high
percentage of young men in the jails and prisons of Louisiana are the focus of SHISAP and
its partner program to strengthen family ties for those incarcerated; and
WHEREAS, the programs are located in the Bossier Medium Security Facility in
Bossier Parish and are conducted in conjunction with the Department of Public Safety and
Corrections; and
WHEREAS, SHISAP and the Family Recovery Program provide a therapeutic
approach to house, treat, educate, and reorient offenders who suffer from substance abuse
issues with the purpose of shortening their incarceration and of offering an improved chance
of remaining outside the criminal justice system through a seamless return to family life; and
WHEREAS, the Family Recovery Program uses the curricula of Strengthening
Families and contains three primary components: family day, life lessons for families, and
reading to our children; and
Page 1 of 3 SCR NO. 3 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, this emphasis on family relationships is based on studies that have
shown that the stronger and more frequently the relationship between offenders and their
children is maintained during the period of incarceration, the smoother the parent's
reintegration into the family and society, in general, will be; and
WHEREAS, the Steve Hoyle program offers a day for a day credit against time
served for those offenders who choose to participate reducing their incarceration stay and
bettering their chances of not becoming a repeat offender; and
WHEREAS, the statistics indicate that SHISAP in Bossier has awarded more than
five hundred thousand days of good time credit, which has saved the state of Louisiana
nearly thirteen million dollars in the period from January 2013 until December 31, 2015; and
WHEREAS, certain other offenders who are eligible to receive one year of credit for
ninety days of treatment have earned nearly fifty thousand days of credit and have saved the
state more than one million dollars in the January 2013 through December 31, 2015 time
period; and
WHEREAS, those who have successfully participated in the SHISAP Family
Recovery Program, which awards seventy-five days of credit upon completion, have been
awarded more than fifty-five thousand days of credit, saving the state more than fifteen
million dollars during the same January 2013 through December 31, 2015 period; and
WHEREAS, since the program moved to Bossier in July 2012, fifteen hundred
offenders have graduated from the nine-month program and an additional six hundred have
graduated from the six-month program; and
WHEREAS, numerous people are responsible for establishing and supporting this
program, including Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, James
LeBlanc; Warden of the David Wade Correctional Center, Jerry Goodwin; Medical/Mental
Health Director for the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Raman Singh, MD;
Bossier Parish Sheriff Julian Whittington; Warden of Care and Treatment for the Bossier
facility, Dr. Susan Tucker; and Mental Health Director for the Bossier facility, Jason Burns.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend and recognize the Steve Hoyle Intensive Substance Abuse Program for its success
in shortening the sentences of certain offenders, while better preparing those offenders to
Page 2 of 3 SCR NO. 3 ENROLLED
reintegrate into their families and communities without a return to substance abuse and
incarceration.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Dr. Susan Tucker, Warden of Care and Treatment at the Bossier Medium Security Facility.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Page 3 of 3