An Act relative to early intervention services for children with prenatal exposure to opioids

This bill updates Massachusetts state law to ensure that children under three years old who were exposed to opioids in the womb receive early intervention services. It achieves this by adding specific legal definitions for "Substance-Exposed Newborn" and "Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome" and requiring the state department to revise its operational standards. Under the new rules, these children would be automatically considered eligible for support services until their third birthday, regardless of whether withdrawal symptoms are immediately detected at birth. The legislation directly impacts families with infants who have prenatal opioid exposure and the agencies responsible for providing early childhood development support.