HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.60          
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO USE ALL AVAILABLE
   INFORMATION TO PROCEED WITH THE SYSTEMATIC IDENTIFICATION OF
   INMATES CURRENTLY INCARCERATED WHO HAVE DUAL OCCURRING
   DIAGNOSES OF MENTAL DISORDERS AND ALCOHOL OR SUBSTANCE
   ABUSE.



 1      WHEREAS, national statistics indicate that 57 percent of the
 2 national prison population has a mental or substance abuse
 3 disorder and, among this population, 13 to 20 percent also has a
 4 co-occurring substance abuse disorder; and
 5 
 6      WHEREAS, the federal government, in recognition of the
 7 problem of the co-occurring disorders of mental illness and
 8 substance dependency, has funded projects in Drug Court and the
 9 Department of Health to identify and divert those in the criminal
10 justice system who test positive for the dual diagnoses; and 
11 
12      WHEREAS, recidivism rates among persons previously convicted
13 of drug-related offenses are estimated to be as high as 80
14 percent, and recidivism rates contribute to the revolving door of
15 Hawaii's prison facilities; and
16 
17      WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety has records of
18 inmates who have been convicted of drug-related crimes but have
19 not integrated those records with records that indicate the
20 presence of mental disorders; now, therefore,
21 
22      BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
23 Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of
24 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Public
25 Safety, in cooperation with the Department of Health and the
26 University of Hawaii School of Social Work, is requested to
27 determine the extent of the co-occurring diagnoses of mental
28 disorders and substance abuse among the State's inmate
29 population; and
30 
31      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety
32 summarize the number of co-occurring diagnoses of mental
33 disorders and substance abuse and make a preliminary assessment
34 of the severity of each case as a basis for further assessment;
35 and

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.60          
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety
 2   submit a summary of its findings to the Legislature no later
 3   than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session
 4   of 2000; and
 5   
 6       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 7   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Public
 8   Safety, the Director of Health, and the Dean of the University 
 9   of Hawaii School of Social Work.
10 
11 
12 
13                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________