HLS 23RS-781 ENGROSSED
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 84
BY REPRESENTATIVE JORDAN
HEALTH: Creates the Task Force on African American Suicide Rates
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To create a task force to study suicide rates among African Americans in Louisiana and
3 report its findings to the legislature no later than February 1, 2024.
4 WHEREAS, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center of the United
5States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health
6Services Administration, African American adults were at the highest risk for past-year
7suicide attempts in 2019; and
8 WHEREAS, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center of the United States has
9reported a suicide rate peak during the adolescence and young adult life of African American
10populations from the year 2010 to 2019; and
11 WHEREAS, among those suicide deaths in the African American population, the
12suicide death rate for men has reached more than four times the rate of women; and
13 WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana has reported six and four-tenths African American
14deaths from suicide to every ten thousand person population in comparison to the seven and
15three-tenths rate reported for the United States; and
16 WHEREAS, WAFB, a Baton Rouge news station, reported in a 2021 broadcast that
17African American boys between the ages of five and twelve were more likely to die by
18suicide than any other age group; and
19 WHEREAS, WAFB also reported that suicides among African American children
20under eighteen years of age have increased by seventy-one percent over the past decade; and
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HCR NO. 84
1 WHEREAS, Louisiana's Suicide Prevention Plan states that although suicide death
2rates are significantly lower for African Americans in Louisiana in comparison to other
3states, this group has a high rate of suicide attempts and serious thoughts of suicide; and
4 WHEREAS, African Americans in Louisiana are considered a high-risk population
5for many negative health outcomes due to high risk factors such as homelessness, exposure
6to violence, psychological distress, family dysfunction, and exposure to racial inequality.
7 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
8create and provide for the Task Force on African American Suicide Rates to study death by
9suicide statistics for African Americans in this state and to propose any recommendations
10regarding suicide prevention.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall consist of the following
12members:
13 (1) The chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, who shall serve as the
14chairman of the task force, or his designee.
15 (2) The chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary B or his designee.
16 (3) The chairman of the House Committee on Health and Welfare or his designee.
17 (4) The chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare or his designee.
18 (5) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health or his designee.
19 (6) The president of the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association or his designee.
20 (7) The president of the Louisiana Academy of Medical Psychologists or his
21designee.
22 (8) The chairman of the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners or his
23designee.
24 (9) The president of the New Orleans Association of Black Social Workers or his
25designee.
26 (10) The president of the Louisiana Chapter of the National Association of Social
27Workers or his designee.
28 (11) The executive director of Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center or his
29designee.
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HCR NO. 84
1 (12) The president of the Louisiana Chapter of the National Association for the
2Advancement of Colored People or his designee.
3 (13) The president of the YWCA Greater Baton Rouge area or his designee.
4 (14) The president of 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge or his designee.
5 (15) The president of the Urban League of Louisiana or his designee.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each designating authority shall submit the name
7of its designee to the task force to the Louisiana Department of Health no later than July 15,
82023.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall
10provide staff support as needed by the task force.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no later than August 1, 2023, the chairman of
12the task force shall convene the first meeting of the task force. At the first meeting, the
13members may elect a vice chairman and other officers as the task force deems appropriate.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a majority of the task force shall constitute a
15quorum for the transaction of business. All official actions of the task force shall require the
16affirmative vote of a majority of the members.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force shall serve
18without compensation, except per diem or expense reimbursement to which they may be
19individually entitled as members of their constituent organizations.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force on African American Suicide
21Rates shall submit its findings in the form of a written report to the legislature and the David
22R. Poynter Legislative Research Library no later than February 1, 2024.
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall terminate on the date of the
24submission of its findings from the study called for in this Resolution in the form of a report
25to the legislature or February 1, 2024, whichever occurs first.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
27secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the president of the Louisiana Psychiatric
28Medical Association, the president of the Louisiana Academy of Medical Psychologists, the
29chairman of the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners, the president of the New
30Orleans Association of Black Social Workers, the president of the Louisiana Chapter of the
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HCR NO. 84
1National Association of Social Workers, the executive director of Baton Rouge Crisis
2Intervention Center, the president of the Louisiana Chapter of the National Association for
3the Advancement of Colored People, the president of the YWCA Greater Baton Rouge area,
4the president of 100 Black Men of Baton Rouge, and the president of the Urban League of
5Louisiana.
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 84 Engrossed 2023 Regular Session Jordan
Creates a task force to study the African American suicide rates and potential means to
promote suicide awareness and prevention and to report its findings to the legislature no later
than Feb. 1, 2024.
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