§ 15:830 — Treatment of inmates with mental illness or intellectual disability

§830. Treatment of inmates with mental illness or intellectual disability
A. This Section shall be cited and referred to as the "Mental Healing Justice for
Incarcerated People Act".
B. It is the intent of the legislature that the state of Louisiana shall allocate state
funding for the Mental Healing Justice for Incarcerated People Act to ensure both the access
and delivery of quality care for individuals incarcerated within the Department of Public
Safety and Corrections. The legislature also finds that access to high-quality mental health
services, regardless of the setting, is of importance. The state wholly supports efforts to
assist incarcerated individuals suffering from severe and persistent mental illnesses in their
efforts to navigate incarceration and reentry into society.
C.(1) The department shall establish resources and programs for the treatment of
inmates with a mental illness or an intellectual disability either in a separate facility or as part
of other institutions or facilities of the department.
(2)(a) Subject to appropriation by the legislature and the availability of resources, the
department shall provide screening to persons entering state prison facilities, upon intake,
for mental health disorders as defined in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association.
(b) At any point during the person's incarceration, any department staff member who
suspects that an incarcerated person may have a mental illness may refer that person to the
facility's mental health department.
(3) Subject to appropriation by the legislature and the availability of resources, the
department shall provide Mental Health First Aid training to employees on an annual basis.
(4) The department may utilize trained peer support who have shared lived
experiences to augment and enhance mental health services.
(5) To the extent feasible and subject to the availability of department and
community resources, the department, prior to the release of an incarcerated person, shall
provide an incarcerated person who has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness an
appointment or walk-in instructions for a community mental health provider to ensure
continuity of care.
D. On the recommendation of appropriate medical personnel and with the consent
of the Louisiana Department of Health or other appropriate department, the secretary of the
Department of Public Safety and Corrections may transfer an inmate for observation and
diagnosis to the Louisiana Department of Health or other appropriate department or
institution for a period not to exceed the length of his sentence. If the inmate is found to be
subject to civil commitment for psychosis or other mental illness or intellectual disability,
the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall initiate legal
proceedings for such commitment. If the inmate is not represented by counsel at such legal
proceedings, the court shall appoint an attorney to represent him. Reasonable attorney fees
shall be fixed by the judge and shall be paid by the state. While the inmate is in such other
institution, his sentence shall continue to run.
E. When, in the judgment of the administrator of the institution to which an inmate
has been transferred, he has recovered from the condition which occasioned the transfer, he
shall be returned to the department, unless his sentence has expired.

Legislative History

Added by Acts 1968, No. 192, §1. Amended by Acts 1980, No. 609, §1, eff. July 23, 1980; Acts 2014, No. 811, §7, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2023, No. 214, §1.