123225-123255
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 123225-123255
123225. The department shall maintain a program of maternal and child health. 123230. The department may investigate, and disseminate educational information relating to, conditions affecting the health of the children of this state. 123232. (a) The department shall develop or obtain a brochure to educate pregnant women and new parents about the important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing chronic diseases of both of the following: (1) Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. (2) Staying active every day. (b) The brochure shall address how proper nutrition and exercise help prevent the development of chronic disease in pregnant women, new mothers, and young children. The brochure shall also include information regarding the critical role of fruits and vegetables in a person's diet, especially as an important source of vitamins and nutrients to new mothers and their breast milk. (c) The department shall include the brochure on the department's Web site. (d) The brochure shall be distributed as follows: (1) By the department to each individual who contacts the BabyCal program and receives a package of information from the program. (2) By a provider to each participant in the Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM) program one time during the participant's pregnancy. (e) The brochure shall be available in both English and Spanish. (f) This section shall be implemented only if, and to the extent that, federal or private funding, or both, are available for that purpose. 123235. The program may include the provision of educational, preventative, diagnostic and treatment services, including medical care, hospitalization and other institutional care and aftercare, appliances and facilitating services directed toward reducing infant mortality and improving the health of mothers and children. The department may make grants or contracts or advance funds from any funds that are made available for the purposes of the Maternal and Child Health Program Act (Section 27). 123240. (a) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the department shall conduct a pilot project to assess the effectiveness of daily ambulatory uterine monitoring devices and services in reducing preterm births in Medi-Cal eligible women. (b) The department shall implement the pilot program to assess the incidence of preterm births in 1,000 women at high risk of preterm birth, 500 of whom shall be provided daily ambulatory uterine monitoring services between the 23rd and 36th weeks of gestation and 500 of whom shall be provided routine prenatal care augmented by training in palpatation. Women participating in the pilot program shall be Medi-Cal eligible women. To the maximum extent possible these services shall be prescribed by providers participating in other programs administered by the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the department or the comprehensive perinatal program. (c) Women shall be deemed to be at high risk if they have multiple gestation or any two of the following risk factors for preterm labor; uterine malformation, a history of preterm labor or births, cervical incompetence, cervical dilation or effacement, and those patients who have been treated during the current pregnancy for preterm labor. (d) The department shall select five counties to participate in the project, at least one of which shall be a rural county, and shall reimburse providers of ambulatory uterine monitoring services a fee based on reasonable costs. (e) (1) The department shall also contract for an evaluation of the pilot project to ascertain whether use of the ambulatory uterine monitoring services significantly reduces the incidence of preterm births. The evaluation shall compare the experimental and control groups and identify the following for each group: (A) The number of preterm births. (B) The number of hospital days used by the mother prior to delivery. (C) The number of hospital days used by the mother and child after delivery, including neonatal intensive care. (D) The number of children born with developmental disabilities or conditions that may lead to developmental disabilities. (E) The costs of providing prenatal services. (2) The evaluation shall also project the costs associated with the health care provided to the mother and child during the course of the pilot project and, if feasible, shall project the longer term health care costs of children born prematurely, including costs of services provided to the developmentally disabled. (3) The department may enter into the contract on a sole source basis. (f) (1) The pilot project established pursuant to this section shall be considered successful if it shows that the experimental group, when compared to the control group, had all of the following: (A) A 20-percent reduction in the number of premature births. (B) A 20-percent reduction in the number of antepartum hospitalization days. (C) A 20-percent reduction in the number of neonatal intensive care unit days for premature births. (D) A 20-percent reduction in total patient costs. (2) The department shall submit the evaluation to the Legislature by September 1, 1990. (g) (1) The department shall immediately seek any federal waivers necessary to ensure full federal financial participation in the pilot program established pursuant to this section. (2) The department shall not implement the pilot program under this section until necessary federal waivers are received. 123245. The Maternal and Child Health Program Act (Section 27) does not give the power to force compulsory medical or physical examination of children. 123250. Upon request the department shall advise all public officers, organizations, and agencies interested in the health and welfare of mothers and children in the state. 123255. (a) The department may maintain a maternal and child health program in each county. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department may allocate, for the purposes of maintaining a maternal and child health program, to a county an amount determined in a manner as the director shall provide. The total of all county allocations shall not exceed the annual appropriation for this purpose. (c) To be considered for an allocation, the county's governing board shall submit a plan and budget for the county's program in accordance with maternal and child health plans and priorities to be approved by the department under Title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 701 et seq.). The department shall establish the procedures and format for submission of the plan and budget. The plan shall conform to the department's maternal and child health priorities that are in accordance with the core public health functions of needs assessment, policy development, and assurance. (d) The department shall establish minimum standards that govern the basis for allocations to counties, including, but not limited to, the services to be provided, administration, staffing, fiscal accountability, and eligibility for services. The department may recoup or withhold all or part of a county's allocation for failure to comply with those standards. (e) Claims for reimbursement shall be made in a manner as provided by the director for activities provided in accordance with the plan and budget for the fiscal year in which the expenses upon which the claim is based are incurred. (f) There shall be no reimbursement for any of the following: (1) Projects or programs identified unless previously approved by the department as part of the maternal and child health plan. (2) Capital improvements. (3) The purchase or construction of buildings except for the equipment items and remodeling expenses as may be allowed by the department on a case-by-case basis. (g) The department and counties shall maximize the use of federal funds available to implement this section, including using state or county funds to match funds claimable under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396 et seq.). (h) (1) For purposes of this program, the department shall reimburse a county pursuant to this section in lieu of renewing or commencing a cooperative agreement with a county for the operation of a maternal and child health program. (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that cooperative agreements between the department and a county for the operation of a maternal and child health program pursuant to this section be replaced by the process described in this section beginning with the 1997-98 fiscal year.