HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.48            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  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
 2   the national prison population has a mental or substance abuse
 3   disorder and, among this population, 13 to 20 percent also has
 4   a 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
10   criminal justice system who test positive for the dual
11   diagnoses; and 
12   
13       WHEREAS, recidivism rates among persons previously
14   convicted of drug-related offenses are estimated to be as high
15   as 80 percent, and recidivism rates contribute to the revolving
16   door of Hawaii's prison facilities; and
17   
18       WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety has records of
19   inmates who have been convicted of drug-related crimes but have
20   not integrated those records with records that indicate the
21   presence of mental disorders; now, therefore,
22   
23       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
24   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
25   of 1999, that the Department of Public Safety, in cooperation
26   with the Department of Health and the University of Hawaii
27   School of Social Work, is requested to determine the extent of
28   the co-occurring diagnoses of mental disorders and substance
29   abuse among the State's inmate 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.R. NO.48            
                                                        
                                                        

 
 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   Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Public Safety, the
 8   Director of Health, and the Dean of the University of Hawaii
 9   School of Social Work.
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13                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________