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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 56

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Bill Status

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HCR056.....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
SECURE MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY - Stating findings of the Legislature and
urging that people with mental illness not under the supervision of the
Department of Correction should not be housed in correctional facilities
and urging that a separate secure mental health facility should be
established for the seriously mentally ill not convicted of crimes.

03/07    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/10    Rpt prt - to Health/Wel

Bill Text

                                                                       
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-ninth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2008

                                                                       

                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 56

                                 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

  1                               A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
  2    STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND STATING THAT PEOPLE WITH  MENTAL  ILL-
  3        NESS  NOT  UNDER SUPERVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION SHOULD NOT BE
  4        HOUSED IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES, AND STATING THAT A SEPARATE SECURE MEN-
  5        TAL HEALTH FACILITY SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED FOR THE SERIOUSLY  MENTALLY  ILL
  6        NOT CONVICTED OF CRIMES.

  7    Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

  8        WHEREAS,  Idaho's prisons are facilities designed and operated to confine,
  9    punish and rehabilitate those who have been convicted of serious crimes; and
 10        WHEREAS, prison facilities  require  conditions  such  as  guards,  prison
 11    issued  clothing,  censorship of inmate mail, lockdowns, restricted visitation
 12    by relatives and friends, restricted communications,  confinement,  restricted
 13    personal possessions, and stark surroundings; and
 14        WHEREAS,  many  of these conditions are not necessary for the treatment of
 15    severe mental illness, and may interfere with the successful treatment of men-
 16    tal illness; and
 17        WHEREAS, commitment to a prison facility carries significant and detrimen-
 18    tal stigma in addition to the stigma of mental illness; and
 19        WHEREAS, housing convicts with mental illness with patients who  have  not
 20    been  convicted of a crime will inevitably expose patients to the prison popu-
 21    lation, associated risks and environment; and
 22        WHEREAS, the state of Idaho lacks adequate facilities for the treatment of
 23    the seriously mentally ill whether  convicted  of  a  crime  or  not  and  has
 24    declared its intent to build a secure mental health facility; and
 25        WHEREAS,  it is not the policy of the state of Idaho to incarcerate people
 26    with mental illness who have not  been  convicted  of  a  crime  or  otherwise
 27    charged  with the commission of a violent crime, or to require them to live in
 28    a prison facility in order to receive treatment for their mental illness.
 29        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second  Regular  Ses-
 30    sion of  the Fifty-ninth Idaho Legislature, the House  of  Representatives and
 31    the  Senate  concurring therein, that the state of Idaho should not use prison
 32    facilities for the treatment or confinement of people with mental illness  who
 33    have not been convicted of a crime or charged with the commission of a violent
 34    crime,  and  that a separate secure facility for the treatment of people whose
 35    mental illness and behavior pose an unusual risk of injury to themselves or to
 36    others and who therefore require a higher level of security should  be  estab-
 37    lished  under  the administration of the Department of Health and Welfare, and
 38    that such facility should not be located within or as part of the  grounds  or
 39    buildings used as prison facilities for the punishment of persons convicted of
 40    crimes.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact

                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                            RS 18066C1

This resolution declares the policy that the State of Idaho should
not use prison facilities for the treatment or confinement of
people with mental illness who have not been convicted of a crime
or charged with commission of a violent crime, and that a secure
facility for treatment persons with serious mental illness should
be established under the administration of the Department of Health
and Welfare, separate from the secure facility proposed by the
Department of Corrections. 


                           FISCAL NOTE

There is no fiscal impact on the general fund, however, adoption of
the policy may require reallocation of resources targeted for
various facilities under consideration. 




Contact
Representative Lynn Luker 
Representative Tom Loertscher
Representative Pete Nielsen
Representative Phil Hart
Representative Jim Marriot
(208)332-1000
Phone: (208)332-1000


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                        HCR 56