Jurris.COM
Article 7. Accessing Alcohol And Drug Recovery Programs For The Disenfranchised of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 10.5. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 7.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Federal, state, and local governments have the responsibility and the expressed intent to provide and ensure the accessibility of alcohol and other drug treatment, recovery, intervention, and prevention services to all individuals, with specific emphasis on women, ethnic minorities, and other disenfranchised segments of the population.
(b) The effects of inappropriate alcohol use by ethnic populations in California are increasing. Concurrently, the use of available recovery services by these populations is not in keeping with the increase of problems experienced by these populations.
(c) There is a great shortage of treatment programs available to pregnant women and their offspring. Blacks have an infant mortality rate twice that of the general population, and substance abuse only exacerbates the problem.
(d) Barriers to accessing the services available specifically include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Lack of educational materials appropriate to the community.
(2) Geographic isolation or remoteness.
(3) Institutional and cultural barriers.
(4) Language differences.
(5) Lack of representation by affected groups employed by public and private service providers and policymakers.
(6) Insufficient research information regarding problems and appropriate strategies to resolve the problems of access to services.
(e) While current law requires the department to develop and implement a statewide plan to alleviate problems related to inappropriate alcohol use and other drug use and to overcome the barriers to their solution, these attempts have been ineffective due to the magnitude of the task.
(a) Federal, state, and local governments have the responsibility and the expressed intent to provide and ensure the accessibility of alcohol and other drug treatment, recovery, intervention, and prevention services to all individuals, with specific emphasis on women, ethnic minorities, and other disenfranchised segments of the population.
(b) The effects of inappropriate alcohol use by ethnic populations in California are increasing. Concurrently, the use of available recovery services by these populations is not in keeping with the increase of problems experienced by these populations.
(c) There is a great shortage of treatment programs available to pregnant women and their offspring. Blacks have an infant mortality rate twice that of the general population, and substance abuse only exacerbates the problem.
(d) Barriers to accessing the services available specifically include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Lack of educational materials appropriate to the community.
(2) Geographic isolation or remoteness.
(3) Institutional and cultural barriers.
(4) Language differences.
(5) Lack of representation by affected groups employed by public and private service providers and policymakers.
(6) Insufficient research information regarding problems and appropriate strategies to resolve the problems of access to services.
(e) While current law requires the department to develop and implement a statewide plan to alleviate problems related to inappropriate alcohol use and other drug use and to overcome the barriers to their solution, these attempts have been ineffective due to the magnitude of the task.
The department shall provide direction to counties and to
public and private organizations serving the target populations to
increase access to alcohol and other drug abuse prevention and
recovery programs in all of the following ways:
(a) Assume responsibility to increase the knowledge within state agencies and the Legislature of problems affecting the target populations.
(b) Determine, compile, and disseminate information and resource needs of the counties and constituent service providers to better serve the target populations.
(c) Ensure that established state and county standards, policies, and procedures are not discriminatory and do not contribute to service accessibility barriers.
(d) Promote an understanding of ethnic and gender differences, approaches to problems, and strategies for increasing voluntary access to services by the target populations.
(e) Affirmatively coordinate with the counties for the provision of services to the target populations and to assure accountability that necessary services are actually provided.
(a) Assume responsibility to increase the knowledge within state agencies and the Legislature of problems affecting the target populations.
(b) Determine, compile, and disseminate information and resource needs of the counties and constituent service providers to better serve the target populations.
(c) Ensure that established state and county standards, policies, and procedures are not discriminatory and do not contribute to service accessibility barriers.
(d) Promote an understanding of ethnic and gender differences, approaches to problems, and strategies for increasing voluntary access to services by the target populations.
(e) Affirmatively coordinate with the counties for the provision of services to the target populations and to assure accountability that necessary services are actually provided.
