Section 123605 Of Article 4. Perinatal Health Care From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 106. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 4.
123605
. (a) Each county shall establish protocols between county
health departments, county welfare departments, and all public and
private hospitals in the county, regarding the application and use of
an assessment of the needs of, and a referral for, a substance
exposed infant to a county welfare department pursuant to Section
11165.13 of the Penal Code.
(b) The assessment of the needs shall be performed by a health
practitioner, as defined in Section 11165.8 of the Penal Code, or a
medical social worker. The needs assessment shall be performed before
the infant is released from the hospital.
(c) The purpose of the assessment of the needs is to do all of the
following:
(1) Identify needed services for the mother, child, or family,
including, where applicable, services to assist the mother caring for
her child and services to assist maintaining children in their
homes.
(2) Determine the level of risk to the newborn upon release to the
home and the corresponding level of services and intervention, if
any, necessary to protect the newborn's health and safety, including
a referral to the county welfare department for child welfare
services.
(3) Gather data for information and planning purposes.