# The SAFE in Recovery Act: What It Does and Who It Affects

This bill aims to help families dealing with substance use disorders by protecting them from certain legal consequences and making it easier to access treatment and support services. The core idea is that people struggling with addiction—especially pregnant women and new mothers—shouldn't face automatic involvement with child protective services just because they're taking medication for their condition or have a baby born with withdrawal symptoms.

The bill makes several specific changes. First, it prevents states from automatically drug-testing new mothers or requiring them to undergo toxicology screening without their clear permission. More importantly, if a pregnant or postpartum woman is taking prescription medication for addiction treatment (like methadone or buprenorphine) exactly as prescribed by a doctor, she can't be investigated for child abuse or neglect based solely on that fact. Healthcare providers also won't be required to report these cases to child protective services unless they have other reasons to believe a child is in danger. This matters because many women avoid seeking addiction treatment out of fear of losing their children, so removing this barrier could encourage more people to get help.

Beyond protecting parents from legal consequences, the bill creates a federal task force made up of representatives from major government agencies—including health, education, justice, and social services departments—to coordinate better support for families affected by substance use disorders. This task force will spend two years studying what services exist, what barriers prevent people from accessing them, and how to streamline help. The bill also dedicates significant funding to expand mental health and addiction services through community health centers, provides $60 million annually for Head Start programs to support children from families dealing with addiction, and encourages Medicare to pay providers more when they treat pregnant women with opioid addiction. Additionally, it funds research on how pregnancy and substance use disorder interact and requires a study on whether doctors are actually using the best available treatment guidelines for pregnant patients with addiction.

SAFE in Recovery Act

Lee, Barbara

Substance Use Disorder and Family Engagement in Recovery Act or the SAFE in Recovery ActThis bill expands services available to families affected by substance use disorders (SUD) and implements protections for parents seeking SUD treatment.&nbsp;Specifically, the bill requires health centers funded through the Community Health Center Fund (CHC Fund) to provide mental health and SUD treatment services, and provides funds to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement this change in FY2025. The bill also reauthorizes the CHC Fund through FY2028. Moreover, under the Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Demonstration Program, the bill permits HHS to provide increased per-beneficiary payments for beneficiaries receiving pregnancy or postpartum services.&nbsp;As a condition of Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant funding, the bill restricts states from investigating and reporting pregnant and postpartum patients affected by SUD in specified instances. For example, the results of toxicology testing on patients taking prescription drugs (including drugs that treat SUD) in accordance with the recommendations of the prescribing doctor may not be the sole factor in a family separation determination. Further, states may not investigate a patient for child neglect or abuse, nor report them to a child protective services system, solely on account of their use of a prescription drug.Finally, the bill establishes new federal efforts to study and fund care for families affected by SUD, including a consortium led by the National Institutes of Health to set research priorities related to SUD.&nbsp;