“The federal government needs to take more steps to help states protect infants born affected by drugs such as opioids, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says in a new report released Wednesday.
State agencies remain confused about a federal law requiring them to report drug-affected infants to child protective services — not to punish mothers but to help families and ensure the child’s safety, the GAO says. Thirty-eight states said more guidance would be “extremely to very helpful,” according to the report.
The GAO report was sparked by a 2015 Reuters investigation showing a growing number of newborns diagnosed with drug-withdrawal syndrome from opioids. Thousands of infants were sent home from hospital without the “plan of safe care” required by a 2003 federal law, the news agency found.”
Source: TheGazette.com – February 8, 2018
