Amended  IN  Assembly  March 25, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1225

Introduced by Assembly Member Waldron

February 19, 2021

An act relating to substance use disorder. to amend Sections 3403, 3408, and 3409 of the Penal Code, relating to incarcerated persons.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1225, as amended, Waldron. Substance use disorder treatment. The Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act.
Existing law requires an incarcerated person in a state prison who is identified as possibly pregnant or capable of becoming pregnant during an intake health examination or at any time during incarceration to be offered a test upon intake or request. Existing law requires an incarcerated person who is confirmed to be pregnant to be scheduled for pregnancy examination with a physician, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant within 7 days. Existing law requires incarcerated pregnant persons to be provided specified prenatal services and a referral to a social worker. Existing law requires incarcerated pregnant persons be given access to community-based programs serving pregnancy, birthing, or lactating inmates. Existing law allows an incarcerated pregnant person to be provided with a postpartum examination within one week, and as needed up to 12 weeks, postpartum. Existing law prohibits the use of tasers, pepper spray, or other chemical weapons against incarcerated pregnant persons. Existing law requires that a person incarcerated in a state prison who menstruates to be provided, upon request, with materials necessary for personal hygiene with regard to their menstrual cycle.
This bill would enact the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, which would require that a woman incarcerated in a state prison receive trauma-informed care and would prohibit an incarcerated woman from being placed in solitary confinement for purposes of medical observation. The bill would require a woman incarcerated in a state prison to have access to domestic violence counseling and parenting and lifestyle classes, as specified. The bill would require an incarcerated woman who delivers a child to be provided an 18-month bonding period with the child, during which time the newborn child is required to reside at the same facility as the incarcerated woman. The bill would require the incarcerated woman to be provided with additional visitation time with the newborn upon conclusion of the bonding period, to include overnight and weekend visitation. The bill would require an incarcerated woman to be evaluated and, if necessary, treated for postpartum depression. The bill would require a person incarcerated in a state prison who menstruates or experiences uterine or vaginal bleeding to be provided with materials necessary for personal hygiene with regard to their menstrual cycle, as specified.

Existing law consolidates within the State Department of Health Care Services all substance use disorder functions and programs from the former State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to substance use disorder treatment.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act.

SEC. 2.

 Section 3403 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

3403.
 (a) Every woman upon being committed to said an institution shall be examined mentally and physically, and shall be given the care, treatment trauma-informed care, treatment, and training adapted to her their particular condition. Such care, treatment The trauma-informed care, treatment, and training shall be along the lines best suited to develop her the person’s mentality, character character, and industrial capacity; provided, however, no inmate shall be confined longer than the term of her their commitment.
(b) An incarcerated woman shall not be placed in solitary confinement for purposes of medical observation.

SEC. 3.

 Section 3408 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

3408.
 (a) A person incarcerated in the state prison who is identified as possibly pregnant or capable of becoming pregnant during an intake health examination or at any time during incarceration shall be offered a test upon intake or by request. Pregnancy tests shall be voluntary and not mandatory, and may only be administered by medical or nursing personnel. An incarcerated person who declines a pregnancy test shall be asked to sign an “Informed Refusal of Pregnancy Test” form that shall become part of their medical file.
(b) An incarcerated person with a positive pregnancy test result shall be offered comprehensive and unbiased options counseling that includes information about prenatal health care, adoption, and abortion. This counseling shall be furnished by a licensed health care provider or counselor who has been provided with training in reproductive health care and shall be nondirective, unbiased, and noncoercive. Prison staff shall not urge, force, or otherwise influence a pregnant person’s decision.
(c) A prison shall not confer authority or discretion to nonmedical prison staff to decide if a pregnant person is eligible for an abortion. If a pregnant person decides to have an abortion, that person shall be offered, but not forced to accept, all due medical care and accommodations until they are no longer pregnant. A pregnant person who decides to have an abortion shall be referred to a licensed professional specified in subdivision (b) of Section 2253 of the Business and Professions Code.
(d) A person incarcerated in prison who is confirmed to be pregnant shall, within seven days of arriving at the prison, be scheduled for a pregnancy examination with a physician, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant. The examination shall include all of the following:
(1) A determination of the gestational age of the pregnancy and the estimated due date.
(2) A plan of care, including referrals for specialty and other services to evaluate for the presence of chronic medical conditions or infectious diseases, and to use health and social status of the incarcerated person to improve quality of care, isolation practices, level of activities, and bed assignments, and to inform appropriate specialists in relationship to gestational age and social and clinical needs, and to guide use of personal protective equipment and additional counseling for prevention and control of infectious diseases, if needed.
(3) The ordering of prenatal labs and diagnostic studies, as needed based on gestational age or existing or newly diagnosed health conditions.
(e) Incarcerated pregnant persons shall be scheduled for prenatal care visits as follows, unless otherwise indicated by the physician, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant:
(1) Every four weeks in the first trimester up to 24 to 28 weeks.
(2) Every two weeks thereafter up to 36 weeks gestation.
(3) Every one week thereafter until birth.
(f) Incarcerated pregnant persons shall be provided access to both all of the following:
(1) Prenatal vitamins, to be taken on a daily basis, in accordance with medical standards of care.
(2) Newborn care that includes access to appropriate assessment, diagnosis, care, and treatment for infectious diseases that may be transmitted from a birthing person to the birthing person’s infant, such as HIV or syphilis.
(3) Domestic violence counseling and parenting and lifestyle classes. These counseling sessions and classes may be accomplished via video conferencing.
(g) Incarcerated pregnant persons housed in a multitier housing unit shall be assigned lower bunk and lower tier housing.
(h) Incarcerated pregnant persons shall not be tased, pepper sprayed, or exposed to other chemical weapons.
(i) Incarcerated pregnant persons who have used opioids prior to incarceration, either by admission or written documentation by a probation officer, or who are currently receiving methadone treatment, shall be offered medication assisted treatment with methadone or buprenorphine, pursuant to Section 11222 of the Health and Safety Code, and shall be provided information on the risks of withdrawal.
(j) (1) An eligible incarcerated pregnant person or person who gives birth after incarceration in the prison shall be provided notice of, access to, and written application for, community-based programs serving pregnant, birthing, or lactating incarcerated persons. At a minimum, the notice shall contain guidelines for qualification, the timeframe for application, and the process for appealing a denial of admittance to those programs.
(2) If a community-based program is denied access to the prison, the reason for the denial shall be provided in writing to the incarcerated person within 15 working days of receipt of the request. The written denial shall address the safety or security concerns for the incarcerated person, infant, public, or staff.
(k) Each incarcerated pregnant person shall be referred to a social worker who shall do all of the following:
(1) Discuss with the incarcerated person the options available for feeding, placement, and care of the child after birth, including the benefits of lactation.
(2) Assist the incarcerated pregnant person with access to a phone in order to contact relatives regarding newborn placement.
(3) Oversee the placement of the newborn child.
(l) An incarcerated pregnant person shall be temporarily taken to a hospital outside the prison for the purpose of giving childbirth and shall be transported in the least restrictive way possible and in accordance with Section 3407. An incarcerated pregnant person shall not be shackled to anyone else during transport. An incarcerated pregnant person in labor or presumed to be in labor shall be treated as an emergency and shall be transported to the outside facility, accompanied by prison staff.
(m) An incarcerated pregnant person may elect to have a support person present during labor, childbirth, and during postpartum recovery while hospitalized. The support person may be an approved visitor or the prison’s staff designated to assist with prenatal care, labor, childbirth, lactation, and postpartum care. The approval for the support person shall be made by the administrator of the prison or that person’s designee. If an incarcerated pregnant person’s request for an elected support person is denied, reason for the denial shall be provided in writing to the incarcerated person within 15 working days of receipt of the request. The written denial shall address the safety or security concerns for the incarcerated person, infant, public, or staff. Upon receipt of a written denial, the incarcerated pregnant person may choose the approved institution staff to act as the support person.
(n) All pregnant and postpartum incarcerated persons shall receive appropriate, timely, culturally responsive, and medically accurate and comprehensive care, evaluation, and treatment of existing or newly diagnosed chronic conditions, including mental health disorders and infectious diseases.
(o) An incarcerated pregnant person in labor and delivery shall be given the maximum level of privacy possible during the labor and delivery process. If a guard is present, they shall be stationed outside the room rather than in the room, absent extraordinary circumstances. If a guard must be present in the room, the guard shall stand in a place that grants as much privacy as possible during labor and delivery. A guard shall be removed from the room if a professional who is currently responsible for the medical care of a pregnant incarcerated person during a medical emergency, labor, delivery, or recovery after delivery determines that the removal of the guard is medically necessary.
(p) Upon delivery, the mother and the newborn child shall be provided with a bonding period of 18 months during which time the newborn child shall reside at the same facility as the incarcerated mother. At the conclusion of the bonding period, the child shall be placed with the person the mother has designated. The incarcerated mother shall be provided with visitation time, in addition to what they are already entitled to, including weekends and overnights, for the purpose of visiting with the child.

(p)

(q) Upon return to prison, the physician, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant shall provide a postpartum examination within one week from childbirth and as needed for up to 12 weeks postpartum, and shall determine whether the incarcerated person may be cleared for full duty or if medical restrictions are warranted. Postpartum individuals shall be given at least 12 weeks of recovery after any childbirth before they are required to resume normal activity. The incarcerated woman shall be informed of and screened for postpartum depression and, if necessary, receive appropriate care.

(q)

(r) The rights provided for incarcerated persons by this section shall be posted in at least one conspicuous place to which all incarcerated persons have access.

SEC. 4.

 Section 3409 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

3409.
 (a) A person incarcerated in state prison who menstruates or experiences uterine or vaginal bleeding shall, upon request, have access to, shall be provided with, and be allowed to use, materials necessary for personal hygiene with regard to their menstrual cycle and reproductive system, including, but not limited to, sanitary pads and tampons, at no cost to the incarcerated person. Any person incarcerated in state prison who is capable of becoming pregnant shall, upon request, have access to, and be allowed to obtain, contraceptive counseling and their choice of birth control methods, subject to the provisions of subdivision (b), unless medically contraindicated.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), all birth control methods and emergency contraception approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall be made available to incarcerated persons who are capable of becoming pregnant, with the exception of sterilizing procedures prohibited by Section 3440.
(2) The California Correctional Health Care Services shall establish a formulary that consists of all FDA-approved birth control methods and that shall be available to persons specified in subdivision (a). If a birth control method has more than one FDA-approved therapeutic equivalent, only one version of that method shall be required to be made available, unless another version is specifically indicated by a prescribing provider and approved by the chief medical physician at the facility. Persons shall have access to nonprescription birth control methods without the requirement to see a licensed health care provider.
(c) (1) Any contraceptive service that requires a prescription, or any contraceptive counseling, provided to incarcerated persons who are capable of becoming pregnant, shall be furnished by a licensed health care provider who has been provided with training in reproductive health care, including contraceptive care and counseling, and shall be nondirective, unbiased, and noncoercive. These services shall be furnished by the facility or by any other agency that contracts with the facility. Except as provided in paragraph (2), health care providers furnishing contraceptive services shall receive training in the following areas:
(A) The requirements of this section.
(B) Providing nondirective, unbiased, and noncoercive contraceptive counseling and services.
(2) Providers who attend an orientation program for the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment Program are deemed to have met the training requirements described in paragraph (1).
(d) Any incarcerated person who is capable of becoming pregnant shall be furnished by the facility with information and education regarding the availability of family planning services and their right to receive nondirective, unbiased, and noncoercive contraceptive counseling and services. Each facility shall post this information in conspicuous places to which all incarcerated persons who are capable of becoming pregnant have access.
(e) Contraceptive counseling and family planning services shall be offered and made available to all incarcerated persons who are capable of becoming pregnant at least 60 days, but not longer than 180 days, prior to a scheduled release date.
(f) This section does not limit an incarcerated person’s access to any method of contraception that is prescribed or recommended for any medically indicated reason.

SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to substance use disorder treatment.