Project T.E.A.M.S.

Abstract

Project T.E.A.M.S. (Training, Education, and Management Skills: Meeting the Needs of Infants Prenatally Exposed to Drugs), funded by a training grant from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, developed skilled interdisciplinary teams to support caregivers and optimize the health and environmental care of infants exposed prenatally to drugs and placed in out-of-home care. Using both didactic and clinical approaches, the 6-month program addressed the medical, developmental, environmental, and physical care needs of drug-exposed infants and toddlers; the special needs of their caregivers; and family dynamics and parenting issues. By enhancing the knowledge and skills of staff from community-based child welfare and health care agencies, this project demonstrated a training approach for enhancing the skills of professionals who serve the growing population of prenatally drug-exposed infants.