2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 133
BY SENATOR GATTI
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Senate Committee on Judiciary C, the Department of Public Safety
and Corrections, the Department of Children and Family Services, division of
licensing, and the Louisiana Juvenile Detention Association to study the practices of
solitary confinement, isolation and extended lock down of juveniles, and the
feasibility of implementing of mental health evaluations for juveniles prior to
detention in juvenile facilities.
WHEREAS, Louisiana incarcerates more delinquent youth per capita than any other
state; and
WHEREAS, each of Louisiana's secured juvenile facilities exceed national standards
for facility size, creating safety and other issues and leaving such facilities ill-prepared to
ensure rehabilitation as defined by the American Correctional Association; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's secured juvenile facilities still practice the use of solitary
confinement to control behavior; and
WHEREAS, solitary confinement requires substantial isolation of the delinquent
youth from other delinquent youth, and while in solitary confinement the youth's privileges
and social contact with others are limited; and
WHEREAS, research shows that experiencing solitary confinement can cause rage
and frustration and also lead to depression and anxiety, and thousands of juveniles are
subjected to solitary confinement every year; and
WHEREAS, research has further shown that solitary confinement exacerbates mental
health problems and may lead to suicide; and
WHEREAS, two laws were passed by Congress in 2018, the First Step Act and the
reauthorized Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, to help prohibit solitary
confinement in federal youth institutions; and
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WHEREAS, on February 7, 2019, and February 9, 2019, two juveniles, ages 13 and
17, committed suicide at the Ware Youth Detention Center within 72 hours while in solitary
confinement; and
WHEREAS, both juveniles were constituents of Senate District 36; and
WHEREAS, an investigative report by the Department of Children and Family
Services revealed the Ware Youth Detention Center committed several alarming infractions
while the juveniles were in solitary confinement, including but not limited to a delay in
mandatory mental health assessments, failure to check on residents at required times, and
dangerous parts of rooms that could assist a resident in committing suicide.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
requests that the Senate Committee on Judiciary C, the Department of Public Safety and
Corrections, the Department of Children and Family Services, division of licensing, and the
Louisiana Juvenile Detention Association study all aspects of solitary confinement in
juvenile facilities, the abolishment of solitary confinement in juvenile facilities, and the
implementation of mental health evaluations of a juvenile delinquent prior to solitary
confinement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall include consideration of input
from the affected communities, individuals, state and local agencies, and private entities, as
may be determined in the course of the study.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall include an analysis of the
feasibility of housing juveniles in juvenile detention centers exclusively, and not in adult
facilities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study provided for by this Resolution shall
be completed prior to the convening of the 2020 Regular Session.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be submitted to the
Department of Public Safety and Corrections, the Department of Children and Family
Services, and the Louisiana Juvenile Detention Association.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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