PRINTER'S NO. 720
No. 656 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY PESCI, MELIO, GEIST, ULIANA, HERMAN, DALEY, BUNT,
STURLA, TRELLO, TIGUE, BEBKO-JONES, VEON, PISTELLA, KIRKLAND,
GERLACH, CAWLEY AND HARLEY, MARCH 22, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGING AND YOUTH, MARCH 22, 1993
AN ACT
1 Establishing the care coordinator program for mothers and their
2 children.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Care
7 Coordinator Program for Mothers and Their Children Act, or MATCH
8 Act.
9 Section 2. Legislative findings and purpose.
10 (a) Findings.--Dependence on alcohol and other drugs is
11 having a devastating effect on children and families in this
12 Commonwealth. In particular, there is concern about the use of
13 alcohol and other drugs by pregnant women and women with
14 dependent children. Chemical dependency, coupled with the
15 factors that lead to it, negatively affects a parent's ability
16 to care for his or her children, frequently contributes to the
17 risk of child abuse and neglect, and can result in poor physical
1 and emotional health or developmental delay in childhood.
2 (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this act is to establish
3 demonstration programs designed to coordinate services for women
4 and children, to treat chemical dependency in parents, to
5 protect the health, safety and welfare of children, and to
6 prevent children from becoming chemically dependent.
7 Section 3. Definitions.
8 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
9 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
10 context clearly indicates otherwise:
11 "Child." An individual who is 17 years of age or younger.
12 "Department." The Department of Health of the Commonwealth.
13 "Provider." A hospital, health care facility or drug and
14 alcohol provider licensed by the Department of Health which
15 provides or can access maternity, obstetrical, prenatal,
16 pediatric and family medicine care and drug and alcohol
17 treatment services.
18 Section 4. Demonstration programs.
19 The department, through grants to providers, shall establish
20 demonstration programs for women who are addicted to alcohol and
21 other drugs, and for their children, to be known as MATCH, or
22 Care Coordinator Programs for Mothers and Their Children.
23 (1) The purpose of the programs shall be to provide
24 therapeutic intervention and to coordinate comprehensive
25 services which will address the needs and welfare of mothers
26 and their children.
27 (2) The department shall attempt to target those areas
28 of this Commonwealth where data documents a high incidence of
29 substance abuse among childbearing women or adverse birth
30 outcomes, as demonstrated by mortality and low birth weight
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1 rates in excess of Statewide averages.
2 Section 5. Eligibility for funding.
3 In order to qualify for funding under this program, a
4 provider shall meet the following requirements relating to care
5 coordinators:
6 (1) The provider shall designate staff, employed by the
7 facility, assigned to carry out the duties of care
8 coordinators.
9 (2) Care coordinators shall be assigned to each woman
10 and child under the provider's care if, on the basis of a
11 referral from a physician, the pregnant woman, mother or
12 child is identified as showing symptoms of being addicted to
13 alcohol or other drugs.
14 (3) The provider shall develop a protocol for the
15 identification of pregnant women and newborn children under
16 the provider's care who are addicted to alcohol and other
17 drugs.
18 (4) Care coordinators shall develop a coordinated,
19 comprehensive service and treatment plan for a mother and her
20 child or children referred under this section. The treatment
21 plan shall be based on the care coordinator's assessment of
22 the chemical addiction of the mother as well as other medical
23 and social needs and factors that shall include, but not be
24 limited to, the following considerations:
25 (i) The health of the mother.
26 (ii) The health of the child or children.
27 (iii) The mother's parenting skills, including her
28 strengths as well as her weaknesses.
29 (iv) The child's or children's developmental
30 potential, including plans for reassessment at
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1 appropriate age intervals.
2 (v) The quality of the parent-child interaction and
3 the extent to which it should be reinforced or remedied.
4 (vi) The number and age of other children in the
5 household.
6 (vii) Social support systems, including immediate
7 and extended family, available to the mother and child or
8 children.
9 (viii) The mother's ability to provide or obtain
10 services for the child, including, but not limited to,
11 the mother's financial resources.
12 (ix) Housing for the mother and child or children in
13 her custody.
14 (5) As soon as possible following the referral of a
15 pregnant woman, mother or child to a care coordinator, the
16 care coordinator shall assess the mother's and her child's or
17 children's eligibility and need for alcohol or other drug
18 treatment and detoxification programs, including outpatient
19 and residential treatment programs, licensed under the act of
20 April 14, 1972 (P.L.221, No.63), known as the Pennsylvania
21 Drug and Alcohol Abuse Control Act, and determine what other
22 specific appropriate services are available to the mother and
23 child or children under the following programs:
24 (i) Medical assistance, under Title 19 of the Social
25 Security Act (49 Stat. 620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.),
26 including early periodic screening, diagnosis and
27 treatment for individuals 20 years of age or younger.
28 (ii) The Women, Infant and Children (WIC)
29 supplemental food program authorized by section 17 of the
30 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-642, 42 U.S.C.
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1 § 1786).
2 (iii) Cash assistance, under Article IV of the act
3 of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Public
4 Welfare Code.
5 (iv) Programs for mothers and children developed
6 under Title 5 of the Social Security Act.
7 (v) Programs and services provided under the act of
8 October 20, 1966 (3rd Sp.Sess., P.L.96, No.6), known as
9 the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act of 1966.
10 (vi) Social services provided by a county children
11 and youth program.
12 (6) The care coordinator shall be responsible for
13 advising a woman that she or her child or children has been
14 identified by a physician as having symptoms suggestive of
15 addiction to alcohol or other drugs, and shall advise the
16 mother of a plan of treatment and services prepared on behalf
17 of the mother and her child or children.
18 (7) The care coordinator shall provide the woman with a
19 description of services and a care plan for which she and her
20 child or children are eligible and shall request the mother's
21 approval of the care plan. The care plan shall contain
22 documentation of her approval. The care plan shall indicate
23 that the coordinator will assist the woman in obtaining
24 services and benefits needed by the mother and child or
25 children and for which the mother and child or children are
26 eligible.
27 (8) The care coordinator shall advise the mother of the
28 availability of specialized outreach services under this
29 section or otherwise provided in the community.
30 (9) The care coordinator shall provide follow-up and
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1 monitoring for women and children for up to one year
2 following their referral to the care coordinator to ensure
3 that recommended services for the woman and child or children
4 have been received. However, in the case of a pregnant woman,
5 follow-up and monitoring shall continue for one year
6 following birth.
7 Section 6. Outreach services.
8 A provider shall arrange for the provision and availability
9 of outreach services to meet the specific needs of pregnant
10 women and mothers who are addicted to alcohol and other drugs
11 and of their children.
12 (1) Outreach services may include the utilization of
13 medical vans to areas in a community where there is a high
14 incidence of chemical dependency among childbearing women or
15 high mortality and low birth weight rates for infants, as
16 determined by the department.
17 (2) Outreach services shall also include home
18 visitation, when possible, to help enroll women in prenatal
19 care and programs for treatment of alcohol and other drug
20 addictions. The provider shall indicate whatever existing
21 resources are available to fulfill this objective and shall
22 avoid duplication of services.
23 (3) The provider shall indicate to the department the
24 hours during which outreach services are provided so as to
25 maximize the provider's effectiveness and serve the greatest
26 number of women who are addicted and their children.
27 Section 7. Report to the General Assembly.
28 Within one year following the effective date of this act and
29 every year thereafter, the department shall submit to the
30 General Assembly a report on the programs established under this
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1 act. The report shall include, but not be limited to,
2 information concerning the providers selected to participate in
3 the program, the number of women and children served, the types
4 of services arranged for and provided to women and children, the
5 cost of care coordinators and outreach services, the
6 effectiveness of services provided, and recommendations on ways
7 to improve the program.
8 Section 8. Guidelines.
9 (a) Initial guidelines.--The department shall issue
10 guidelines that provide criteria for grants to eligible
11 providers in accordance with the provisions of this act. The
12 department shall submit proposed guidelines to the Aging and
13 Youth Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives
14 for comments and recommendations. The department shall advise
15 the committees of the final guidelines and any subsequent
16 revisions. These guidelines shall remain in effect for the
17 three-year period following the effective date of this act and
18 until regulations are finally adopted under subsection (b).
19 (b) Regulations.--Following the three-year period described
20 in subsection (a), the guidelines shall be prepared and
21 promulgated as regulations, subject to the laws relating to the
22 promulgation, review and adoption of regulations.
23 Section 9. Expiration.
24 This act shall expire three years from the effective date of
25 this act.
26 Section 10. Effective date.
27 This act shall take effect immediately.
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