Review of state laws for reporting or notification requirements for prenatal substance exposure of newborns to child protective or welfare services.

INTRODUCTION

Some state laws include language that require reporting or notification of prenatal substance exposure to child protective or welfare services. There is variation in the requirements specified in state laws.

METHODS

Using a cross-sectional legal epidemiology study design, we examined state laws in the United States (all 50 states and the District of Columbia) as of -December 2020, to identify language describing reporting or notification requirements for prenatal substance exposure of newborns to child protective or welfare services. We assessed whether these state laws included language specific to: Plans of Safe Care, type of provider required to report, and legal penalties for failure to report.

RESULTS

Laws in two-thirds of states (37 of 51) included language on reporting or notification requirements for prenatal substance exposure. Among the 37 states with laws that contain language on reporting or notification, 17 included language on Plans of Safe Care; 20 included language on required reporting specific to healthcare workers involved in the prenatal, delivery, or postnatal care of newborns with prenatal substance exposure; and 24 included legal penalties for healthcare worker failure to report.

CONCLUSION

In 2020, most states had laws that included language on reporting and notification requirements for prenatal substance exposure; however, less than half of states with reporting or notification requirements included language on Plans of Safe Care. Documenting the variation in the requirements of these state laws can serve as a baseline to assess changes over time and inform research on studies that assess health and social outcomes.