Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H166 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3132 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 166
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Carole A. Fiola
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to substance exposed newborns.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Carole A. Fiola6th Bristol1/19/2023Paul A. Schmid, III8th Bristol2/1/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/1/2023Alan Silvia7th Bristol2/2/2023Mathew J. Muratore1st Plymouth2/7/2023Tricia Farley-Bouvier2nd Berkshire2/14/2023Priscila S. Sousa6th Middlesex2/15/2023 1 of 6
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3132 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 166
18	18	By Representative Fiola of Fall River, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 166) of
19	19	Carole A. Fiola and others relative to substance exposed newborns. Children, Families and
20	20	Persons with Disabilities.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
24	24	(2023-2024)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act relative to substance exposed newborns.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Section 51A of chapter 119 of the general laws is hereby amended in
30	30	2subsection (a) in the first paragraph by striking out the words:-
31	31	3 (iii) physical dependence upon an addictive drug at birth,
32	32	4 SECTION 2. Said section 51A is hereby further amended by inserting after subsection (a)
33	33	5the following new subsection:-
34	34	6 (a ½) An indication of prenatal parental substance use at the time of the delivery of an
35	35	7infant does not, in of itself, meet the requirements of subsection (a). However, a mandatory
36	36	8reporter shall file a written report following in the following circumstances:
37	37	9 (i) there is an indication of prenatal substance use by the birthing parent; and
38	38	10 (ii) the mandated reporter has reasonable cause to believe that the parent(s) will continue
39	39	11to use substances in such a manner that would render them unable to fulfill the basic needs of the 2 of 6
40	40	12infant upon discharge from the hospital, or if other factors are present that indicate current and
41	41	13substantial risk of harm to a child’s health or welfare.
42	42	14 SECTION 3. Chapter 111 of the general laws is hereby amended by inserting in Section 1
43	43	15the following:
44	44	16 “Plan of Safe Care”, a family care plan designed to ensure the safety and well-being of an
45	45	17infant with prenatal substance exposure following his or her release from the care of a healthcare
46	46	18provider by addressing the health and substance use treatment needs of the infant and affected
47	47	19family or caregiver.
48	48	20 SECTION 4: Chapter 111 of the general laws is hereby amended by inserting after
49	49	21section 51K the following section:-
50	50	22 Section 51L. (a) The Department of Public Health in consultation with the Department of
51	51	23Children and Families shall promulgate regulations and corresponding guidance for all
52	52	24healthcare providers who care for perinatal patients and/or newborns detailing the roles and
53	53	25responsibilities of staff related to the requirement that healthcare providers must:
54	54	26 (1) Screen, conduct a brief intervention, and provide referrals to treatment services in
55	55	27order to identify and respond to prenatal substance use;
56	56	28 (2) Notify the Department of Public Health of all births of infants who were prenatally
57	57	29exposed to substances pursuant to the requirements of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and
58	58	30Treatment Act. 3 of 6
59	59	31 (3) Prior to postnatal discharge, determine whether to file a report of suspected child
60	60	32abuse or neglect as required by section 51A of chapter 119 and identify if a plan of safe care, as
61	61	33defined in section 1 of chapter 111, has been developed;
62	62	34 (4) Assess family needs, develop a plan of safe care if indicated, and refer families to
63	63	35appropriate services, as directed by the Department of Public Health and pursuant to the federal
64	64	36Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.
65	65	37 (b) The Department of Public Health shall develop a plan to receive notifications of
66	66	38substance exposed births, as defined in regulation under subsection (a) of this section, directly
67	67	39from healthcare providers and shall collect data for reporting in a manner that is in compliance
68	68	40with the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act .
69	69	41 (c) The Department of Public Health shall establish a program to ensure perinatal
70	70	42individuals, families, and providers have access to services designed to support the development
71	71	43and implementation of an effective plan of safe care, including services addressing the health and
72	72	44substance use disorder treatment needs of the infants and affected family or caregivers, as
73	73	45required by the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Said program shall include a
74	74	46central system perinatal individuals, families and providers can contact to receive information
75	75	47and referrals, as well as a system of community-based services to meet the behavioral health,
76	76	48parenting, and child development needs of families affected by substance use and substance use
77	77	49disorders, subject to appropriation.
78	78	50 (d) The Department of Children and Families shall provide, and the Department of Public
79	79	51Health shall receive, submissions of data from the Department of Children and Families to the 4 of 6
80	80	52Public Health Data Warehouse in order to facilitate ongoing quality assurance and evaluation
81	81	53projects related to this statute and other family-service initiatives.
82	82	54 (e) The Department of Public Health shall provide data to the Department of Children
83	83	55and Families on all births of infants who were prenatally exposed to substances in a form and
84	84	56manner that is compliant with the requirements of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and
85	85	57Treatment Act, provided that said data shall not include personally identifiable information.
86	86	58 SECTION 5. (a) The department of the children and families, department of public health
87	87	59and the office of the child advocate shall develop a report to study of the impact of this
88	88	60legislation on child abuse and neglect reports made under Section 51A of chapter 119 and
89	89	61compliance with the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. The departments shall
90	90	62consider
91	91	63 (1) Any disparate impact, including disparate racial impact, of these changes in statute;
92	92	64 (2) Any impact the statutory changes may have had on child safety;
93	93	65 (3) Gaps in services; and
94	94	66 (4) Any additional statutory or regulatory changes that may be needed.
95	95	67 (b) The report shall include
96	96	68 (1) An examination of child abuse and neglect reports related to an infant’s exposure at
97	97	69birth to substances that were ultimately screened out by the department of children and families; 5 of 6
98	98	70 (2) An examination of reports of infants who were exposed to substances; at birth that did
99	99	71not result in a child abuse and neglect report, and whether there was a subsequent report of abuse
100	100	72or neglect of the same child within one year of birth;
101	101	73 (3) The demographics, including race and ethnicity, of both the child and the parents that
102	102	74are the subject of reports described in subsection (1) and (2).
103	103	75 (c) If feasible, said report shall include relevant aggregate quantitative data on all cases
104	104	76that meet the criteria specified in subsection (b)(1) and (b)(2) above, as well as a qualitative
105	105	77analysis that includes a review of case notes in the database maintained by the department of
106	106	78children and families for a sample of cases.
107	107	79 (d) No later than 18 months after the effective date of this legislation the department of
108	108	80children and families, the department of public health and the office of the child advocate shall
109	109	81file an interim report of their findings with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives,
110	110	82the senate committee on ways and means, the house committee on ways and means, the joint
111	111	83committee on children, families, and person with disabilities, and the joint committee on mental
112	112	84health, substance use and recovery.
113	113	85 (e) No later than three years after the effective date of this legislation, the department of
114	114	86children and families, the department of public health, and the office of the child advocate shall
115	115	87file a final report of their findings with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the
116	116	88senate committee on ways and means, the house committee on ways and means, the joint
117	117	89committee on children, families, and person with disabilities, and the joint committee on mental
118	118	90health, substance use and recovery. 6 of 6
119	119	91 SECTION 6. Sections 1 and 2 shall be effective eighteen months after the passage of this
120	120	92legislation.
121	121	93
122	122	94 SECTION 7. Sections 3 and 4 shall be implemented and effective twelve months after the
123	123	95passage of this legislation.