Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 8. Source pages: 9.
HR 174 –Rep. Miller Seeks Help to Improve Mental Health Services in State
Representative Gregory Miller put forth House Resolution 174 on June 7 which passed unanimously.
Miller's Resolution requests the chairman of the House Committee on Health and Welfare and the chairman of the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice to form a joint subcommittee comprised of members of the two committees to solicit input, advice, and recommendations from representatives of certain mental healthcare and criminal justice organizations concerning care for persons receiving mental health services in community-based and institutional settings.
The resolution, filed late in the session, includes a clinical psychologist from the Louisiana Psychological Association to be included in the 34 groups that are represented in the Committee.
Resolution included the following excerpts:
WHEREAS, the office of behavioral health of the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) provides statewide authority and accountability for behavioral healthcare including mental health treatment services and substance use disorder treatment for Louisiana citizens; and WHEREAS, the rise in local mental health issues, treated and untreated, and the impacts resulting therefrom have become a public health crisis; and WHEREAS, one-third of Americans between the ages of fifteen and fifty-four will develop a mental illness in their lives; and WHEREAS, according to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, one of every five people experiences a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year; and WHEREAS, in Louisiana, an estimated six hundred fifty thousand adults and two hundred forty-five thousand children experience mental health disabilities and incapabilities throughout the course of their lifetimes; and WHEREAS, identification of gaps in the provision of mental health treatment at the local level is vital to the overall improvement of mental health within the community; and WHEREAS, conducting a study to identify such gaps can provide the legislature with the requisite information to better address the state of mental health in Louisiana.
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