JBA Presents on Prenatal Exposure to Substances at National Conferences
JBA researchers joined with colleagues to share insights from the Prenatal Alcohol and Other Drug Exposures in Child Welfare project at two national conferences in April.
On April 12, Erin Ingoldsby copresented a workshop at the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) conference in Washington, DC, with Sharon Newburg-Rinn (Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families), Jacquelyn Bertrand (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and Christine Leicht (ICF). The workshop, Prenatal Alcohol and Other Drug Exposures Among Children and Their Families in the Child Welfare System: Preliminary Results from a Multisite Study, reviewed—
- Evidence-based literature regarding children with prenatal exposure to alcohol and other drugs, including opioids
- Preliminary findings from a multisite study
- Promising screening processes and tools to assist with identification of affected children
The conference focused on opportunities to leverage the Family First Prevention Services Act to achieve the vision of the CWLA National Blueprint for Excellence in Child Welfare—so that “all children will grow up safely, in loving families, with everything they need to flourish and with connections to their culture, ethnicity, race and language.”
On April 26, Tammy Richards copresented a workshop at the Children’s Bureau’s National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN), also in Washington, DC, with Sharon Newburg-Rinn, Jacquelyn Bertrand, and Kristen Usher (ICF). The workshop, Children Impacted by Prenatal Substance Exposure: What the Literature Tells Us About Preventing Long-Term Adverse Outcomes, focused on how identification and diagnosis can facilitate child and family interventions and prevent reentry and escalation of a family’s involvement with child welfare. This year’s NCCAN theme, Strong and Thriving Families, recognized that “supporting families is important to ensure the safety, permanency and well-being of our nation’s children.”