Practice Recommendations

IV. Ongoing Support of Adoptive Families and Children

1. Adoption and/or medical subsidy
2. Information about support services that are available that can respond to the child's and family's needs
3. Continuing supportive and educational services Key Goals: To reduce or prevent developmental delays and/or problems with self-regulation and organization; to deal with the difficulties if problems do appear; to promote a secure attachment between the child and parents; and to build on the child's potential strengths.
   
   Types of Services:
   
   
   • Health/child developmental follow up, at least through children's preschool years
   • Early intervention services
   • Behavioral management, helping parents understand and deal with difficult behaviors
   • Educational advocacy for children: specialized educational services, tutoring for academic underachievement, and assessment and intervention for neuropsychological problems
   • Counseling
   • Support groups for parents: education and guidance for dealing with difficult childhood and adolescent behaviors
   • Legal assistance for parents - in finalizing the adoption and pursuing needed services such as special education and respite care
   
   
   
4. Advocacy for Services. Children with prenatal substance exposure often fall through the cracks of existing services. They often do not neatly fit into "special needs" categories as they are not clearly developmentally delayed, physically disabled, medically fragile, or severely emotionally disturbed. When children do "fit" into an existing category, needed services - especially special education and counseling services for children - are not available or not easy to access.

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PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
PRENATAL SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE

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