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2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 38
BY REPRESENTATIVES DAVIS, AMEDEE, BUTLER, CORMIER, DEVILLIER,
EDMONDS, EDMONSTON, EMERSON, GAROFALO, GOUDEAU, HILFERTY,
HODGES, HORTON, PIERRE, SELDERS, ST. BLANC, STEFANSKI, AND
THOMPSON
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to facilitate a working group to
study the unique needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
and co-occurring behavioral health conditions and to report findings and
recommendations of the working group to the legislative committees on health and
welfare.
WHEREAS, a recent study by the United States Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found that nearly seventeen million five hundred thousand persons with
disabilities in this country experience frequent mental distress, which is nearly five times as
often as persons without a disability; and
WHEREAS, many vulnerable individuals with a co-occurring developmental
disability and behavioral health condition are served by the state Medicaid program and the
office for citizens with developmental disabilities and office of behavioral health of the
Louisiana Department of Health; and
WHEREAS, within the last fifteen years, the two residential units in this state that
were best equipped to serve this population, known as the developmental neuropsychiatric
unit (DNP) and stabilization unit, were closed; and
WHEREAS, the closures of the DNP and the stabilization unit imposed hardships
on families who now struggle on their own to care for loved ones with difficult-to-manage
conditions; and
WHEREAS, these closures have negatively impacted the state's disability services
system and other health systems because individuals now reach crisis levels before receiving
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treatment, which results in this state sometimes paying to send Medicaid enrollees out of
state to receive needed care or admitting individuals into the state-run Pinecrest Supports and
Services Center, where care for an institutionalized client costs over two hundred thousand
dollars per year; and
WHEREAS, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and
co-occurring behavioral health conditions and the families of such persons need access
across the continuum of care and benefit significantly from the following:
(1) Access to community-based mental health treatment, including intensive,
evidence-based options.
(2) Crisis services including therapeutic respite.
(3) Residential or inpatient treatment when indicated; and
WHEREAS, due to the abundance of specialized expertise among staff in the office
for citizens with developmental disabilities and office of behavioral health of the Louisiana
Department of Health, this department is uniquely qualified to facilitate an effort to study
means by which to improve services for individuals with intellectual and developmental
disabilities and co-occurring behavioral health conditions.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to facilitate a working group to study
the unique needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and
co-occurring behavioral health conditions and to develop a report of the group's findings and
recommendations.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group shall be composed of the
following members:
(1) The executive director of The Arc of Louisiana or his designee.
(2) Three parents of minor or adult children with disabilities appointed by the
executive director of The Arc of Louisiana.
(3) A deputy assistant secretary with the office for citizens with developmental
disabilities appointed by the assistant secretary of the office.
(4) The clinical director of the office for citizens with developmental disabilities or
his designee.
(5) The medical director of the office of behavioral health or his designee.
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(6) The chief executive officer of Magellan of Louisiana or his designee.
(7) Two representatives of Medicaid managed care organizations appointed by the
Medicaid director of the Louisiana Department of Health.
(8) Three professionals with expertise in serving individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities and co-occurring behavioral health conditions appointed by the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
(9) A person who previously worked as a professional staff member at the
developmental neuropsychiatric unit or stabilization unit appointed by the assistant secretary
of the office for citizens with developmental disabilities.
(10) The executive director of the Governor's Office of Disability Affairs or his
designee.
(11) The chief executive officer of Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family
Services or his designee.
(12) The executive director of People First of Louisiana or his designee.
(13) The chief executive officer of Easterseals Louisiana or his designee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall
convene the first meeting of the working group no later than August 31, 2022.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in its deliberations, the working group shall
consider all of the following:
(1) Potential sources of funding to reopen a developmental neuropsychiatric unit,
a stabilization unit, or both types of units, as well as suitable locations for the unit or units.
(2) Psychiatric residential treatment facilities as options for serving the target
population.
(3) Options for implementing community-based behavioral health services for the
target population within existing systems and funding of such services through existing
programs.
(4) Approaches for engaging all of Louisiana's Medicaid managed care organizations
in delivering services for the target population.
(5) Means for ensuring all of the following:
(a) Appropriate levels of bed availability for both adults and adolescents.
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(b) That no statement of approval or similar certification is made contingent upon
bed availability.
(c) Access to a residential treatment program to serve the needs of individuals with
intellectual and developmental disabilities and co-occurring behavioral health conditions.
(6) Integration of evidence-based approaches to serving individuals with intellectual
and developmental disabilities into the state's community-based crisis intervention services.
(7) Any other programs and best practices for coordinating and delivering services
for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and co-occurring behavioral
health conditions.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that on or before February 1, 2023, the Louisiana
Department of Health shall submit to the House Committee on Health and Welfare, the
Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, and the David R. Poynter Legislative Research
Library a report of the working group's findings and recommendations.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the executive director of The Arc of
Louisiana, the chief executive officer of Magellan of Louisiana, the executive director of the
Louisiana Managed Medicaid Association, the executive director of the Governor's Office
of Disability Affairs, the chief executive officer of Louisiana United Methodist Children and
Family Services, the executive director of People First of Louisiana, and the chief executive
officer of Easterseals Louisiana.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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