ENROLLED
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 216
BY REPRESENTATIVES BAGLEY, COX, LARVADAIN, MCMAHEN, DUSTIN
MILLER, MOORE, SCHLEGEL, SELDERS, AND STAGNI
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to implement a digital platform to
facilitate access to behavioral health services for adults with serious mental illness
and children with serious emotional disturbance.
WHEREAS, serious mental illness commonly refers to a diagnosis of a psychotic
disorder, bipolar disorder, or either major depression with psychotic symptoms or
treatment-resistant depression; and
WHEREAS, serious mental illness may also include anxiety disorders, eating
disorders, and personality disorders, if the degree of functional impairment is severe; and
WHEREAS, serious mental illnesses may be long-term and involve substantial
functional impairment that often leads to an inability to maintain gainful employment, poor
social support, repeated psychiatric hospitalizations, homelessness, incarceration, and
coexisting substance use disorders; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, over fifteen out of one hundred thousand Louisiana residents
died by suicide; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, more than fifty-five out of one hundred thousand Louisiana
residents died from drug overdoses; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, almost twenty percent of adults, ages eighteen through
forty-four, in Louisiana reported frequent mental health distress; and
WHEREAS, since the COVID pandemic began, over thirty-two percent of adults in
Louisiana reported having symptoms of serious depression or anxiety; and
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WHEREAS, children with severe emotional disturbance are persons under the age
of eighteen who have had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of
sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified within the most current Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders that resulted in functional impairment which
substantially interferes with or limits the child's ability to participate in family, school, or
community activities; and
WHEREAS, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has
identified a digital platform to facilitate access to behavioral health services for adults with
serious mental illness and children with a serious emotional disturbance as an approved
expenditure through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration block
grants to support efforts to connect individuals with services in their area; and
WHEREAS, a digital platform could provide access to services in a wide variety of
settings, including mental health services, suicide prevention, and veterans' affairs that
would greatly benefit the residents of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, a Louisiana-specific digital platform which makes it easier for
individuals to find local behavioral health services would be a valuable resource to Louisiana
residents; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana continues to face unprecedented challenges with substance
abuse, violent crime, and suicide, making the need to connect residents with resources even
more vital than ever.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health
to implement a digital platform to facilitate access to behavioral health services for adults
with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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