SECTIONS 11788-11794.1 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 11788-11794.1

11788. 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.

11789. (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.

11790. 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.

11791. 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.

11792. (a) The department, in consultation with the State
Department of Health Services, shall use existing materials to
distribute a brochure on the care and treatment of infants under the
age of six months who have been exposed to alcohol and other drugs.
The brochure 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 are addicted to cocaine.
(b) The brochure 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.

11793. The department may develop an objective program evaluation
device or methodology and evaluate state-supported alcohol and other
drug abuse prevention and treatment programs.

11794. 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.

11794.1. It is the intent of the Legislature that the department,
in collaboration with the State Department of Health Services and
stakeholders in the medical and treatment provider communities, work
to identify methods for better informing medical doctors of the
benefits of diagnosing and treating substance abuse 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.