Project
Safe Babies Program
Principal Investigator(s): Radhika Bhagat, Program facilitator, phone: 604-660-5682, email: Radhika.Bhagat@vch.ca contact Persons for the Vancouver Coastal region: Charlotte Nelson, charlotte.nelson@gov.bc.ca; Lyna Kiviste, email: lyna.kiviste@gov.bc.ca
Start/End Date: 1998 to date
Location: Capital MCFD Region (Victoria, BC) and Vancouver Coastal MCFD Region (Vancouver, BC)
Brief Description: Developed in response to needs identified for infants with prenatal substance exposure living in foster care: to provide infant/child with an optimal physical, social, emotional and safe environment in order to maximize early childhood development, and minimize any potential for harm (such as shaken baby syndrome). Through this program, foster parents, alternate caregivers and professionals are provided with ongoing support and training in their care of these infants. The Vancouver version was adapted to reflect the cultural diversity of the region’s caregivers as well as that of the infants coming into care; work in partnership with multiple agencies involved in service delivery; consider particularly the at-risk infants from the Downtown Eastside; and include the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society (VACFSS) in its work. Hospital discharge policy was developed in partnership with BC Women’s Hospital. Potential adoptive parents are also trained and supported. All aspects of this program have increased the capacity of caregivers and the professional community to provide optimal care to infants with prenatal substance exposure.
Time Frame: ongoing
Kind of Project: implementation
Population Served: urban and suburban
Publications: (1) Safe Babies Program: Supporting Substance Exposed Infants in Foster Care: Strategies for Social Workers; (2) Safe Babies: A Caregivers Guide to Daily Care for Infants Exposed Prenatally to Alcohol and Drugs
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