Chapter 3.5. Resources And Information of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 10.5. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 3.5.
The department, with the approval of the Secretary of the
Health and Human Services Agency, may contract with any public or
private agency for the performance of any of the functions vested in
the department by this chapter. Any department of the state is
authorized to enter into such a contract.
(a) The department shall be a central information resource
on alcohol and other drug abuse prevention and treatment programs and
on research projects with respect to alcohol and other drug abuse.
(b) The department shall collect, and act as an information
exchange for, information on research and service projects completed
or in progress relating to alcohol and other drug abuse, provide, to
any person, institution, or public agency proposing any research or
service project on that subject, information with respect to the
areas in which research is needed, and evaluate programs of research,
treatment, and education with respect to alcohol and other drug
abuse.
(c) No state agency shall conduct any research or service project
on alcohol and other drug abuse until it has provided the department
with a description of its proposed project and until the department
has responded with a written description of how the research or
service project relates with other completed, concurrently operating,
or pending research or service projects. If the department fails to
provide the agency with the written description within 60 days from
the date of receipt of the proposed project, the state agency may
proceed to conduct the research or service project as described in
the agency's proposal.
The department, at the request of the county alcohol and
drug program administrator, may assist local community organizations
in initiating effective programs to prevent and treat alcohol and
other drug abuse. The department may charge a fee for this
assistance.
The department may develop and implement a mass media
alcohol and other drug education program involving newspapers, radio,
and television in order to provide community education, develop
public awareness, and motivate community action in alcohol and other
drug abuse prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.
(a) The department, in consultation with the State
Department of Public Health, shall distribute informational materials
on the care and treatment of infants under the age of six months who
have been exposed to alcohol and other drugs. The informational
materials shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) The signs and symptoms of an infant who has been exposed to
alcohol and other drugs.
(2) The health problems of infants who have been exposed to
alcohol and other drugs.
(3) The special feeding needs of infants who have been exposed to
alcohol and other drugs.
(4) The special care needs of infants who have been exposed to
alcohol and other drugs, such as not overstimulating those infants
who have been exposed to cocaine.
(b) The informational materials developed pursuant to subdivision
(a) may be distributed through hospitals, public health nurses, child
protective services, alcohol and other drug facilities, educational
networks, foster parent groups, medical professional offices,
Medi-Cal programs, and county interagency task force groups, as well
as any other agency that the department selects.
The department may develop an objective program evaluation
device or methodology and evaluate state-supported alcohol and other
drug abuse prevention and treatment programs.
The department shall, in consultation with the State
Department of Education, screen and evaluate alcohol and other drug
abuse books, pamphlets, literature, movies, and other audiovisual
aids and may prepare and disseminate lists of recommended materials
to schools, public libraries, alcohol and other drug information
centers, and other public and private agencies. The department may
charge a fee, not exceeding actual costs, for providing the
materials.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the department,
in collaboration with the State Department of Public Health and
stakeholders in the medical and treatment provider communities, work
to identify methods for better informing medical doctors and other
health professionals of the benefits of diagnosing and treating
alcohol misuse and substance use among their patient population,
including, but not limited to, improved outreach efforts at the state
and local levels and the use of information dissemination
strategies, where appropriate.