Department of Health and Human Service 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the release of the ``Protecting Our Infants Act: Final Strategy'' in response to sections 3(a)(2) and 3(b) of the Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015 (POIA). The POIA mandated HHS to: conduct a review of planning and coordination activities related to prenatal opioid exposure and neonatal abstinence syndrome; develop recommendations for the identification, prevention, and treatment of prenatal opioid exposure and neonatal abstinence syndrome; and develop a strategy to address gaps, overlap, and duplication among Federal programs and Federal coordination efforts to address neonatal abstinence syndrome. The Protecting Our Infants Act: Report to Congress which satisfied these requirement was made available January 17, 2017, through February 21, 2017, for public comment in the following docket SAMHSA-2016-0004-0001. As a result of the public comments, summarized below, several recommendations were added to the original strategy and others expanded. The Final Strategy can be read and downloaded at https:// www.samhsa.gov/specific-populations/age-gender-based#poia.