SLS 23RS-1242 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 110
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
HEALTH DEPARTMENT. Requests the Louisiana Department of Health to implement a
digital platform to facilitate access to behavioral health services.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to implement a digital platform to
3 facilitate access to behavioral health services for adults with serious mental illness
4 and children with serious emotional disturbance.
5 WHEREAS, serious mental illness (SMI) commonly refers to a diagnosis of
6 psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, and either major depression with psychotic symptoms
7 or treatment-resistant depression; and
8 WHEREAS, SMI can also include anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and
9 personality disorders, if the degree of functional impairment is severe; and
10 WHEREAS, SMIs are long-term illnesses involving substantial functional
11 impairment that often lead to an inability to maintain gainful employment, poor social
12 support, repeated psychiatric hospitalizations, homelessness, incarceration, and coexisting
13 substance use disorders; and
14 WHEREAS, in 2019, over fifteen out of one hundred thousand Louisiana residents
15 died by suicide; and
16 WHEREAS, in 2020, over forty-one out of one hundred thousand Louisiana residents
17 died from drug overdoses; and
18 WHEREAS, in 2021, almost eighteen percent of adults in Louisiana reported their
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SLS 23RS-1242 ORIGINAL
1 mental health was not good fourteen or more days in the past thirty days; and
2 WHEREAS, in 2021, almost twenty-percent of adults, ages eighteen through
3 forty-four, in Louisiana reported frequent mental-health distress; and
4 WHEREAS, since the COVID pandemic began, over thirty-two percent of adults in
5 Louisiana reported having symptoms of serious depression or anxiety; and
6 WHEREAS, children with severe emotional disturbance (SED) are persons, under
7 the age of 18, who have had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of
8 sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified within the most current Diagnostic
9 and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), that resulted in functional impairment
10 which substantially interferes with or limits the child's role or functioning in family, school,
11 or community activities; and
12 WHEREAS, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
13 (SAMHSA) has identified a digital platform to facilitate access to behavioral health services
14 for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance as an
15 approved expenditure through SAMHSA block grants to support efforts to connect
16 individuals with services in their area; and
17 WHEREAS, a digital platform could provide access to services in a wide variety of
18 settings, including mental-health services, suicide prevention, and veterans' affairs that
19 would greatly benefit the residents of Louisiana; and
20 WHEREAS, a Louisiana-specific digital platform which makes it easier for
21 individuals to find local behavioral health services would be a valuable resource to Louisiana
22 residents; and
23 WHEREAS, Louisiana continues to face unprecedented challenges with substance
24 abuse, violent crime, and suicide, making the need to connect residents with resources even
25 more vital than ever.
26 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
27 does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to implement a digital
28 platform to facilitate access to behavioral health services for adults with serious mental
29 illness and children with serious emotional disturbance.
30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
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SLS 23RS-1242 ORIGINAL
1 secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Brandi Cannon.
DIGEST
SR 110 Original 2023 Regular Session Boudreaux
Requests the La. Dept. 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.
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