2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 46 — Public welfare and assistance
RS 46:2505 — Legislative findings; state addictive disorders plan

§2505. Legislative findings; state addictive disorders plan

A. The legislature hereby finds and declares that:

(1) Louisiana faces a challenge in designing systems to provide care for women who have one or more medical or social risk factors that may predispose them to problem pregnancies or births.

(2) If detected and treated early in pregnancy, many of these medical or social risk factors can be controlled to prevent harm to the mother and the infant.

(3) This state, therefore, adopts as the preferred methods, prevention, intervention, and treatment alternatives rather than punitive actions to ameliorate the problems related to such medical and social risk factors.

B. The Department of Health and Hospitals shall amend the state plan for addictive disorders as follows:

(1) The Department of Health and Hospitals shall establish a program to provide addictive disorders services to eligible pregnant women. Such services shall ensure the availability of appropriate addictive disorders treatment programs that do not discriminate against pregnant women or women with young children.

(2) The secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals shall include in the state addictive disorders plan an emphasis which shall focus on the mechanisms to ameliorate the effects of perinatal addictive exposure. The plan shall include but need not be limited to:

(a) Ensuring the availability of appropriate addictive disorders treatment programs that do not discriminate against pregnant women or women with young children.

(b) Increasing public awareness that addictive disorders are illnesses and combating the misconception that addictive disorders are a problem only among minorities.

(c) Developing criteria for giving pregnant women priority access to publicly funded addictive disorders treatment programs.

(d) Developing residential treatment programs specifically designed for addiction-disordered women and their children.

(e) Encouraging the medical community to identify and refer addiction-disordered pregnant women to treatment programs.

(f) Developing effective strategies for preventing alcohol, nicotine, or substance abuse, or other addictive disorders by assisting in the training of educators, health care providers, and others in identifying addictive disorders and in taking appropriate action. These strategies shall include training designed to improve educational programs for children and adolescents on the dangers of addictive disorders.

C. The secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals shall provide to the legislature an analysis of the state and local fiscal impact of implementing the plan, alternative funding mechanisms, and a recommended apportionment of state and local funding for such programs.

Acts 1991, No. 636, §1; Acts 1999, No. 570, §1.