PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
Amend the amendment in Part A by inserting after section 6 the following:
‘Sec. A-7. 22 MRSA §1532,  as enacted by PL 1983, c. 848, §2, is amended to read:
§ 1532. Detection of cognitive disability
The department mayshall require hospitals, maternity homes and other maternity services to test newborn infants, or to cause them to be tested, for the presence of metabolic abnormalities whichthat may be expected to result in subsequent mental deficienciescognitive disabilities. The department shall promulgateadopt rules to define this requirement and the approved testing methods, materials, procedure and testing sequences. Reports and records of those making these tests may be required to be submitted to the department in accordance with departmental rules. The department may, on request, offer consultation, training and evaluation services to those testing facilities. The department shall adopt rules according to which it shall in a timely fashion refer newborn infants with confirmed metabolic abnormalities to the Child Development Services System as defined in Title 20-A, section 7001, subsection 1-A. The department shall also adopt rules according to which it shall in a timely fashion refer a newborn infant to the Child Development Services System if at least 6 months have passed since an initial positive test result of a metabolic abnormality without the specific nature of the metabolic abnormality's having been confirmed. The department and the Department of Education shall execute an interagency agreement to facilitate all referrals in this section. In accordance with the interagency agreement, the Department of Education shall offer a single point of contact for the Department of Health and Human Services to use in making referrals. Also in accordance with the interagency agreement, the Child Development Services System may make direct contact with the families who are referred. The referrals may take place electronically. For purposes of quality assurance and improvement, the Child Development Services System shall supply to the department aggregate data at least annually on the number of children referred to the Child Development Services System under this section who are found eligible for early intervention services and on the number of children found not eligible for early intervention services. In addition, the department shall supply data at least annually to the Child Development Services System on how many children in the metabolic abnormality detection program were screened and how many were found to have a metabolic disorder. The provisions of this section shallrequirement in this section that a newborn infant be tested for the presence of metabolic abnormalities that may be expected to result in subsequent cognitive disability does not apply to a child if the parents of athat child object to them on the grounds that the test conflicts with their religious tenets and practices.
Sec. A-8. 22 MRSA §8824, sub-§1-A  is enacted to read:
 
1-A.  Referral to Child Development Services System.     The department shall adopt rules according to which it shall in a timely fashion refer children identified in subsection 1 as having a high likelihood of having a hearing impairment to the Child Development Services System. The rules must also describe the timetables under which the department shall refer to the Child Development Services System children identified by the department in accordance with subsection 1 as having possible hearing impairment but for whom hearing impairment has been neither confirmed nor disconfirmed by 6 months of age. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services shall execute an interagency agreement under section 7213 to facilitate the referrals in this subsection. In accordance with the interagency agreement, the Department of Education shall offer a single point of contact for the Department of Health and Human Services to use in making referrals. Also in accordance with the interagency agreement, the Child Development Services System may make direct contact with the families who are referred. The referrals may take place electronically. For purposes of quality assurance and improvement, the Child Development Services System shall supply to the Department of Health and Human Services aggregate data at least annually on the number of children referred under this subsection who are found eligible for early intervention services and on the number of children found not eligible for early intervention services.
Sec. A-9. 22 MRSA §8943,  as enacted by PL 1999, c. 344, §1, is amended to read:
§ 8943. Central registry
The department shall establish and maintain a central registry for cases of birth defects to accomplish the purposes of this chapter and facilitate research on birth defects. The submission of information to and distribution of information from the central registry are subject to the requirements of this chapter and other provisions of law. Information that directly or indirectly identifies individual persons contained within the registry is confidential and must be distributed from the registry in accordance with rules adopted by the department. The department shall adopt rules according to which it will in a timely fashion refer to the Child Development Services System children with confirmed birth defects who may be eligible for early intervention. The department and the Department of Education shall execute an interagency agreement to facilitate the referrals under this section. In accordance with the interagency agreement, the Department of Education shall offer a single point of contact for the Department of Health and Human Services to use in making referrals. Also in accordance with the interagency agreement, the Child Development Services System may make direct contact with the families who are referred. The referrals may take place electronically. For purposes of quality assurance and improvement, the Child Development Services System shall supply to the department aggregate data at least annually on the number of children referred under this section who were found eligible for early intervention services and on the number of children found not eligible for early intervention services. In addition, the department shall supply data at least annually to the Child Development Services System on how many children had data entered into the registry. For a child whose parent or legal guardian objects on the basis of sincerely held religious belief, the department may not require the reporting of information about that child to the central registry or enter into the central registry information regarding birth defects of athat child whose parent or legal guardian objects on the basis of sincerely held religious beliefs.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment requires the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop rules, policies and written interagency agreements to assign responsibility for appropriate referrals from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Child Development Services System from the metabolic abnormality detection program, the newborn hearing program and the birth defects registry.