Denise's Law Out of Senate Judiciary Committee

Denise's Law, which allows parents to place their children in a detoxification program via court order, reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in Albany this week.

The next step is to being the bill before the full Senate for consideration.

Currently, if a child is checked into a program by a parent or guardian the child is under no obligation to remain in the program and may check him or herself out at any time, even if the child has not yet reached the age of majority.

"Parents across our state, and right here on Long Island, are struggling everyday with their children's substance abuse problems," said Sen. Brian X. Foley.  "Denise's Law will help to ease their struggle by assisting them in their fight to keep their children in the detoxification programs that are so crucial to beginning the process of breaking the addiction.  It will also ensure that parents will not have to make the decision not to get help for their child because they cannot afford to cover the cost of detoxification out of their own pocket."

"When parents are fighting for the life of their teen, especially against an enemy like heroin, they are in a race against time," said Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice in a statement.  "We must give them the added tools to wage this war by getting their child treatment. No parent should be left with a feeling of helplessness because they were unable to keep their child in a detox program or because their insurance company refused or limited coverage. Denise's law will allow parents to fight for their child's life and to get them the dependency treatment necessary before it's too late."

Denise's Law is named after Denise Gerardi, a former Sachem High School student who passed away in 2008 following an accidental overdose. 

The legislation was introduced by Sen. Foley after he was approached by the AWARE Committee, a group of students, parents, educators and community leaders in the Sachem Central School District and surrounding communities.

Sachem Patch will be profiling Denise's Law in the coming month.