Section 11757.51.

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) Many infants affected by alcohol or other drugs require neonatal intensive care because of low birth weight, prematurity, withdrawal symptoms, serious birth defects, and other medical problems. Alcohol or other drug affected infants are increasingly being placed in neonatal intensive care units and this care is very expensive.

(b) Alcohol and other drug affected infants place an expensive burden on the foster care system, regional centers, the public and private health care systems, and the public school system.

(c) The appropriate response to this crisis is prevention, through expanded resources for recovery from alcohol and other drug dependency. The only sure effective means of protecting the health of these infants is to provide the services needed by mothers to address a problem that is addictive, not chosen.

(d) California has women of childbearing age who abuse alcohol or other drugs. Current resources are not adequate to meet the treatment needs of these women. California cannot delay addressing the serious need in this area. California taxpayers and health care consumers currently bear the enormous financial burden of alcohol and other drug affected infants and those costs can only be contained through expansion of treatment services for women who have an alcohol or other drug dependency and prevention services for women at risk of developing an alcohol or other drug dependency.

(e) Comprehensive prevention and treatment services for both mothers and infants need to be provided in a multidisciplinary, multispecialist, and multiagency fashion, necessitating coordination by both state and local governments.

(f) Intervention strategies for women at risk of developing an alcohol or other drug dependency have proven effective and there are currently in operation programs that can be expanded and modified to meet the critical need in this area.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 862, Sec. 12. Effective January 1, 2005.)