ENROLLED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 37
BY REPRESENTATIVE SMITH
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To continue the Louisiana Women's Incarceration Task Force that was created pursuant to
House Concurrent Resolution No. 27 of the 2018 Regular Session of the Legislature
to study, evaluate, analyze, and undertake a comprehensive review of the state's
criminal justice system as it relates to women and to report its findings and policy
recommendations by January 1, 2020.
WHEREAS, over the last several years, Louisiana has taken steps to implement
cost-effective and evidence-based practices and programs that have worked to control the
growth in the state's prison population; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana should continue to build upon these successes while
recognizing that incarcerated women face unique challenges, and therefore, may or may not
benefit from these reform efforts; and
WHEREAS, according to United States Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2017,
Louisiana had the seventh highest women's incarceration rate in the United States and
incarcerated more than two thousand women at a cost of over $50 million; and
WHEREAS, the most effective changes will be made when all those who are
impacted or involved in the criminal justice system have representation in developing
policies and processes related to women's incarceration, and input from all criminal justice
stakeholders is essential in the development and implementation of these changes; and
WHEREAS, it is beneficial to the entire population of the state of Louisiana to
continue the study of state sentencing and corrections systems for women with the goal of
producing a body of research resulting in specific policy recommendations that reduce
correctional populations, implement placement and behavioral practices which address and
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reduce violence and harassment based upon gender, and hold all parties in the correctional
system responsible for their actions; and
WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution No. 27 of the 2018 Regular Session of
the Legislature created the Louisiana Women's Incarceration Task Force to study, evaluate,
analyze, and undertake a comprehensive review of the state's criminal justice system as it
relates to women for the purpose of developing policy recommendations that work to
accomplish all of the following:
(1) Develop practices and processes that avoid placing additional trauma or harm
upon women as they navigate the criminal justice system.
(2) Reduce both the correctional population and recidivism of women.
(3) Address the holistic health of women to include access to hormone therapy,
prenatal care, reproductive health, access to other medicine to maintain health, consistent
health screenings, mental health access, and access to substance use and recovery resources.
(4) Increase and evaluate programming available to women during and after
incarceration with the intention of self-determined development.
(5) Increase and ensure the availability of gender responsive resources to support the
dignity and quality of life of all women.
(6) Reinvest savings into strategies shown to decrease recidivism, including
improved reentry outcomes, diversion programs, and employment opportunities.
WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution No. 27 provided for the membership and
chairmanship of the task force; the goals, duties, responsibilities, procedures, and meeting
requirements of the task force; for the administrative assistance and staffing of the task
force; the authority to collaborate with community organizations and stakeholders; and the
authority to request relevant data and staff expertise from the Louisiana Legislative Women's
Caucus, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, and the office of the judicial
administrator of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
continue the Louisiana Women's Incarceration Task Force until January 1, 2020, for the
purposes set forth in and in accordance with House Concurrent Resolution No. 27 of the
2018 Regular Session.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that on or before January 1, 2020, the task force shall
prepare and submit a final report containing a detailed statement of its findings and policy
recommendations to the governor, the speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives,
the president of the Louisiana Senate, and the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court,
and shall also make the report available to the public.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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