Louisiana § RS 28:25.1 - Establishment of Feliciana Forensic Facility; authorization to establish forensic facilities in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Alexandria

§ RS 28:25.1. Establishment of Feliciana Forensic Facility; authorization to establish forensic facilities in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Alexandria

            A. The forensic unit at Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System is hereby declared to be a separate and distinct facility from East Louisiana State Hospital and hereafter shall be known as the Feliciana Forensic Facility.

            B. The department may establish additional forensic facilities for the treatment of forensic patients in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Alexandria as funds are appropriated by the legislature.

            C.(1)(a) The director or administrator of any such facility shall admit only those persons:

            (i) Determined to be incompetent prior to trial and committed on recommendation of a sanity commission.

            (ii) Found not guilty by reason of insanity.

            (iii) Transferred from state correctional institutions.

            (iv) Who were judicially committed after being charged with a criminal offense and found incompetent to stand trial.

            (v) Judicially committed to and transferred from any hospital for persons who have a mental illness or substance-related or addictive disorder.

            (b) A transfer from any other hospital shall be had only after the director or administrator of the transferring facility, in concurrence with two psychiatrists, has determined and certified in writing to such forensic facility that the person to be transferred is dangerous to others and that the transferring facility cannot adequately protect its staff and patients from such person.

            (c) The decision to transfer shall not be made until after the person who is proposed to be transferred has had an opportunity to be heard regarding his actions upon which the proposed transfer is based by the director or administrator and two concurring psychiatrists.

            (d) For purposes of this Section, a person shall be determined "dangerous to others" when said person has attempted to cause serious injury or harm to a patient or staff person on at least one occasion and the likelihood is that said person will cause such injury again if he is allowed to remain in the facility requesting the transfer.

            (2)(a) The administrator of the Feliciana Forensic Facility shall refuse admission to any person if:

            (i) Admission of the person would cause overcrowding of the facility.

            (ii) The facility is unable to provide appropriate care or treatment for the person.

            (iii) The person is not accompanied by a file containing a history of the person's mental and physical health and documents required pursuant to Articles 648.1 and 654.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

            (iv) The person from a hospital or correctional institution is not accompanied by a summary of the facts presented at the hearing at which the person objected to his transfer to the forensic facility and a summary of the person's objections.

            (b) If the person refused admission is being held in a parish jail, the Louisiana Department of Health shall pay to the parish sheriff, or to the parish governing authority of any parish in which the governing authority operates the parish jail, an amount equal to the sum paid to the parishes by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections for keeping and feeding state inmates under the provisions of R.S. 15:824(B)(1). This sum shall be paid from the day the inmate is committed to the facility until the person is accepted by the facility or the order of commitment is rescinded by the court. The department shall, in addition, reimburse the sheriff or parish governing authority for the cost of any medical treatment occasioned by the reasons for the commitment, provided the treatment is not provided by a state operated facility. The payments required by this Subparagraph shall be made monthly based upon reports filed by the sheriff.

            (3) The Feliciana Forensic Facility shall be free to return a patient to the original institution when, in the opinion of the Feliciana Forensic Facility administrator, the patient has received the maximum benefit of treatment at the Feliciana Forensic Facility.

            (4) When the administrator of Feliciana Forensic Facility fails to obey an order or judgment of a court committing a person to said facility, the court shall consider the following before it holds him in contempt: whether the failure is (a) due to the inability to comply with the order or judgment because of inability to offer adequate or appropriate care or treatment, (b) because of overcrowding at the facility, or (c) because obeying the order or judgment would cause the administrator to violate an outstanding court order or judgment.

            D. The department may contract with local law enforcement agencies and the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to provide security personnel for clients placed in such forensic units, or other facilities to which such clients may be temporarily referred for medical treatment.

            Added by Acts 1979, No. 763, §1; Acts 1979, No. 768, §1. Amended by Acts 1980, No. 687, §2; Acts 1981, No. 581, §1; Acts 1982, No. 208, §1, eff. July 15, 1982; Acts 1991, No. 47, §1; Acts 1992, No. 620, §1; Acts 2014, No. 811, §14, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2017, No. 369, §2.