HLS 17RS-1004 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 58
BY REPRESENTATIVE HILFERTY
PUBLIC HEALTH: Requests an evaluation and report concerning prospective
implementation of a "baby box" program as a means of reducing infant mortality
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the bureau of family health of the Louisiana Department of Health to
3 evaluate the feasibility and desirability of implementing a "baby box" program as a
4 means of reducing infant mortality, and to report findings of the evaluation to the
5 legislative committees on health and welfare.
6 WHEREAS, in March of 2017, Alabama became the third U.S. state, after New
7Jersey and Ohio, to make free "baby boxes" available to the families of all newborns on a
8statewide basis; and
9 WHEREAS, the "baby box" distributed in these states is a sturdy cardboard box
10which doubles as a bassinet and comes with a firm foam mattress, a tight-fitting sheet, and
11breastfeeding accessories; and
12 WHEREAS, these baby box distribution initiatives are a variation of a program
13providing maternity packages in Finland which began approximately eighty years ago when
14that country suffered a postneonatal death rate of nearly ten percent; and
15 WHEREAS, Finland's infant mortality rate has dropped by over ninety-five percent
16in the past eight decades and is now one of the world's lowest; and
17 WHEREAS, by contrast, among the thirty-five nations that comprise the
18Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United States ranks sixth-
19from-last (twenty-ninth) in infant mortality; and
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HCR NO. 58
1 WHEREAS, within the U.S., Louisiana has a particularly high rate of infant
2mortality; according to the 2016 America's Health Rankings report, at over eight infant
3deaths per one thousand live births, Louisiana's infant mortality rate ranks forty-eighth
4among U.S. states and is nearly twice that of the state with the nation's lowest infant
5mortality rate (Massachusetts); and
6 WHEREAS, promoting safe sleep and reducing other risk factors for infant mortality
7have been longstanding priorities of the bureau of family health of the Louisiana Department
8of Health, the child welfare division of the Department of Children and Family Services, and
9the Louisiana State Child Death Review Panel.
10 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
11urge and request the bureau of family health of the Louisiana Department of Health to
12evaluate the feasibility and desirability of implementing a "baby box" program of the type
13described in this Resolution as a means to promote safe sleep among families with newborns
14and thereby reduce infant mortality.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the evaluation requested in this
16Resolution, the bureau of family health shall engage, collaborate with, and obtain
17information and perspective from the child welfare division of the Department of Children
18and Family Services, the Louisiana State Child Death Review Panel, and any other
19stakeholder groups as deemed appropriate by the director of the bureau of family health.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the bureau of family health shall submit a
21written report of its findings resulting from the evaluation requested in this Resolution to the
22House Committee on Health and Welfare and the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare
23no later than sixty days prior to the convening of the 2018 Regular Session of the Legislature
24of Louisiana.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
26secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the secretary of the Department of Children
27and Family Services, and the chairperson of the Louisiana State Child Death Review Panel.
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HCR NO. 58
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 58 Original 2017 Regular Session Hilferty
Urges and requests the bureau of family health of the La. Dept. of Health to evaluate the
feasibility and desirability of a prospective program to distribute "baby boxes" (sturdy
cardboard boxes which double as bassinets and come with a firm foam mattress, tight-fitting
sheet, and breastfeeding accessories) as a means of reducing infant mortality, akin to similar
programs of three other U.S. states.
Requests the bureau of family health to report findings of the evaluation to the legislative
committees on health and welfare no later than 60 days prior to the convening of the 2018
R.S.
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