§ 23-1.10-4. Duties of department. The department shall:

(1) Develop, encourage, and foster statewide, regional, and local plans and programs for the prevention of alcoholism and treatment of alcoholics and intoxicated persons in cooperation with public and private agencies, organizations, and individuals and provide technical assistance and consultation services for these purposes;

(2) Coordinate the efforts and enlist the assistance of all public and private agencies, organizations, and individuals interested in prevention of alcoholism and treatment of alcoholics and intoxicated persons;

(3) Cooperate with the department of corrections and board of parole in establishing and conducting programs to provide treatment for alcoholics and intoxicated persons in or on parole from penal institutions;

(4) Cooperate with the board of regents for elementary and secondary education, board of governors for higher education, schools, police departments, courts, and other public and private agencies, organizations, and individuals in establishing programs for the prevention of alcoholism and treatment of alcoholics and intoxicated persons, and preparing curriculum materials for use at all levels of school education;

(5) Prepare, publish, evaluate, and disseminate educational material dealing with the nature and effects of alcohol;

(6) Develop and implement, as an integral part of treatment programs, an educational program for use in the treatment of alcoholics and intoxicated persons, which program shall include the dissemination of information concerning the nature and effects of alcohol;

(7) Organize and foster training programs for all persons engaged in treatment of alcoholics and intoxicated persons;

(8) Sponsor and encourage research into the causes and nature of alcoholism and treatment of alcoholics and intoxicated persons, and serve as a clearing house for information relating to alcoholism;

(9) Specify uniform methods for keeping statistical information by public and private agencies, organizations, and individuals, and collect and make available relevant statistical information, including number of persons treated, frequency of admission and readmission, and frequency and duration of treatment;

(10) Advise the governor in the preparation of a comprehensive plan for treatment of alcoholics and intoxicated persons;

(11) Review all state health, welfare, and treatment plans to be submitted for federal funding under federal legislation, and advise the governor on provisions to be included relating to alcoholism and intoxicated persons;

(12) Assist in the development of, and cooperate with, alcohol education and treatment programs for employees of state and local governments and businesses and industries in the state;

(13) Utilize the support and assistance of interested persons in the community, particularly recovered alcoholics, to encourage alcoholics to voluntarily undergo treatment;

(14) Cooperate with the department of transportation and related agencies both state and local in establishing and conducting programs designed to deal with the problem of persons operating motor vehicles while intoxicated;

(15) Encourage general hospitals and other appropriate health facilities to admit without discrimination alcoholics and intoxicated persons and to provide them with adequate and appropriate treatment;

(16) Encourage all health and disability insurance programs to include alcoholism as a covered illness;

(17) Submit to the governor an annual report covering the activities of the department; and

(18) Establish alcohol and substance abuse prevention programs for students in kindergarten through grade twelve (12), in accordance with § 35-4-18. The director shall make an annual report to the governor and the general assembly on the administration of the program and shall submit to the governor and the general assembly the results of an independent evaluation of the alcohol and substance abuse prevention program established in accordance with this section. This evaluation shall address the following areas:

(i) Program development;

(ii) Implementation;

(iii) Impact; and

(iv) Recommendations for future needs.

History of Section. (P.L. 1972, ch. 130, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 81, § 18; P.L. 1986, ch. 412, § 4; G.L. 1956, § 40.1-4-4; P.L. 1995, ch. 370, art. 14, § 4; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 4.)