Senate Committee Substitute

SCS/SB 913 - Under current law, any physician or health care provider may refer a family in which a child may have been exposed to a Schedule I, II, or III controlled substance or alcohol to the Department of Health and Senior Services. This act permits the physician or health care provider instead to refer the family to the Children's Division. Additionally, this act repeals the requirement that the Department of Health and Senior Services offer service coordination services to the family and initiate such services within 72 hours of notification.

This act repeals a provision of current law prohibiting any department to cease providing services for any exposed child when a physician or health care provider has made or approved a written assessment that documents the child as at risk of abuse or neglect until the physician or health care provider authorizes the file to be closed.

Finally, this act modifies the definition of "assessment and treatment services for children under ten years old" to remove the requirement that the assessment and screening be conducted every six months for a child under the custody of the state. Instead, the assessment and screening shall be conducted in accordance with the periodicity schedule of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Provisions of this act are identical to provisions in the truly agreed to and finally passed CCS/SB 819 (2018) and HCB 11 (2018) and substantially similar to HB 2164 (2018).

SARAH HASKINS


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