State Minor Consent Laws A Summary Third Edition 2010
The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law has released the third edition of State Minor Consent Laws: A Summary! This landmark publication provides detailed information about the laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that allow minors to consent for their own health care. These laws have evolved over several decades and play a key role in adolescents’ access to a broad range of health care services that are important for protecting their health.
This 300 page monograph includes for each state a general overview of how the state’s laws address minor consent and a specific summary, with citations, of each relevant law. Some of the laws allow minors to consent for health care because they have a specific status – such as emancipated minor – and others allow minors to consent for specific health services – such as testing and treatment for sexually transmitted disease. The monograph also includes summaries of laws providing for confidentiality and disclosure of information related to the care for which minors are allowed to consent.
To accompany the specific state information, the monograph includes a detailed introduction with an overview of the legal framework for consent and confidentiality in adolescent health care, appendices with additional resources, and a chart containing an overview of minor consent laws in the states.
This monograph is an essential reference for health care professionals, lawyers, and other youth advocates and service providers working to increase access to health care for adolescents. It contains detailed, reliable, up-to-date legal information related to health care access for young people who are emancipated, homeless, married, or parents as well as laws related to contraception, pregnancy, STDs, HIV, drug and alcohol use, and outpatient mental health services.
With this third edition, for the first time, individual state packages are available in addition to the full monograph that contains all 50 states and DC. Ordering information is at www.cahl.org.