HLS 24RS-311 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 11
BY REPRESENTATIVE MOORE
COURTS: Requests a study to make recommendations regarding behavioral health courts
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the office of behavioral health of the Louisiana Department of Health
3 to study the connection between mental health issues, homelessness, and the criminal
4 justice system and the effectiveness of behavioral health courts as an alternative to
5 the traditional judicial system.
6 WHEREAS, studies have shown that people who suffer from mental illnesses are
7more likely to enter into the criminal justice system when they do not have access to quality
8behavioral health services in their communities; and
9 WHEREAS, national studies indicate that the rates of mental illness are consistently
10higher in the criminal justice system; and
11 WHEREAS, approximately half of the United States jail population and over one-
12third of the United States prison population were diagnosed with a mental illness in 2020;
13and
14 WHEREAS, between 2018 and 2019, five hundred twenty-one thousand people in
15Louisiana received mental health services the previous year; and
16 WHEREAS, over one-third of Louisiana's total incarcerated adult individuals were
17identified as receiving some level of mental health care in 2019; and
18 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Legislature enacted the "Mental Health Court Treatment
19Act" in 2013 which established mental health court treatment programs; and
20 WHEREAS, the program allows people with mental illnesses to serve their sentence
21on probation if they comply with certain requirements; and
Page 1 of 3 HLS 24RS-311 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 11
1 WHEREAS, only three behavioral health courts have been launched, in the parishes
2of Calcasieu, Rapides, and St. Tammany; and
3 WHEREAS, homeless individuals may also be more likely to have mental health
4conditions which may increase their risk of involvement in the criminal justice system; and
5 WHEREAS, people with severe mental illness may be less able to cope with the
6stresses of homelessness or may perpetrate criminal acts that are manifestations of their
7illness; and
8 WHEREAS, in 2008, the rate of homelessness among jail inmates who had been
9homeless in the previous year and homeless at the time of incarceration was approximately
107.5 to 11.3 times the annual rate of homelessness in the general population; and
11 WHEREAS, it is important to understand the needs of Louisiana residents who are
12incarcerated and suffer from mental illness in order to understand the impact of untreated
13mental illnesses and the criminal justice system and to reduce recidivism.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
15urge and request the office of behavioral health of the Louisiana Department of Health to
16study the connection between mental health issues, homelessness, and the criminal justice
17system.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the office of behavioral health of the Louisiana
19Department of Health shall study the effectiveness, impact, and operational costs of the
20behavioral health courts in Calcasieu Parish, Rapides Parish, and St. Tammany Parish and
21report its findings and recommendations to the legislature prior to the convening of the 2025
22Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
24office of behavioral health of the Louisiana Department of Health.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the office of behavioral health of the Louisiana
26Department of Health shall submit one print copy and one electronic copy of any report
27produced pursuant to this Resolution to the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library
28as required by R.S. 24:772.
Page 2 of 3 HLS 24RS-311 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 11
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 11 Original 2024 Regular Session Moore
Requests the office of behavioral health of the La. Dept. of Health to study and make
recommendations regarding behavioral health courts.
Page 3 of 3