November 2000Vol. 1, No. 7President Signs Law Promoting Children's Health
A comprehensive, bipartisan children's health bill reauthorizing and expanding several programs was signed into law by the President on October 17.
The legislation focuses on the following areas:
- Promoting new research on treatment for children's health
- Improving the health and safety of child care centers
- Ensuring safe and quality mental health treatment
- Reauthorizing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- Combating youth and adult drug use
- Supporting a comprehensive response to school safety and youth violence.
Child welfare professionals should take note of specific provisions in the bill regarding adoption awareness and projects addressing children and violence.
Title XII, Subtitle A Infant Adoption Awareness, provides grants to adoption organizations to develop and implement programs that train health center staff to incorporate adoption information and referrals into counseling for pregnant women. Subtitle B promotes adoptions of special needs children by funding a national campaign, toll-free information, support groups, and research to identify the reasons for adoption disruptions.
Title XXXI, Section 3101, funds programs in local communities that assist children in dealing with violence. This includes grants to research evidence-based practices to treat the psychological problems of children and youth who witness or experience a traumatic event, such as domestic violence.
To learn more about the Children's Health Act of 2000, visit Thomas, a service of the Library of Congress at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c106:H.R.4365.ENR:
A PDF version of the bill is available at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname= 106_cong_bills&docid=f:h4365enr.txt.pdf