In November 2016, State Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa J. Levine declared the Virginia opioid addiction crisis a public health emergency. In 2017, the Governor and General Assembly directed the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a workgroup to study barriers to identification and treatment of substance-exposed infants in the Commonwealth. In December 2017, the work group made recommendations in a report submitted to the General Assembly.

During the 2018 General Assembly session, the Code of Virginia (§ 32.1-73.12) was amended to identify the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) as the lead agency to develop, coordinate, and implement a plan for services for substance-exposed infants. The plan must:

1. support a trauma-informed approach to the identification and treatment of substance-exposed infants and their caregivers and include options for improving screening and identification of substance-using pregnant women

2. include the use of multidisciplinary approaches to intervention and service delivery during the prenatal period and following the birth of the substance-exposed child and referral among providers serving substance-exposed infants and their families and caregivers.

The General Assembly directed VDH to work cooperatively with the following stakeholders in developing the plan:

• Virginia Department of Social Services
• Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
• community services boards and behavioral health authorities
• Local departments of health
• Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists--Virginia Section
• other stakeholders as may be appropriate.

VDH is required to report to the General Assembly annually regarding implementation of the plan.

Various state and local agencies, health systems, and community partners are involved in efforts to provide services and resources for substance-exposed infants and their families. However, VDH identified a lack of coordination and knowledge of these efforts and resources among partners and health systems. Many partner organizations know what is available within their respective communities but this does not transcend to resources and services external to the community. VDH conducted an environmental scan survey to capture efforts and resources currently available to pregnant and post-partum women and substance-exposed infants across the Commonwealth. The results are being analyzed and will be discussed when the taskforce convenes for the first meeting in early 2019. The task force will utilize survey results in the development of the plan for services for substance-exposed infants.