A Planning Guide: Steps to Support a Comprehensive Approach to Plans of Safe Care

Hundreds of thousands of infants are born in the US each year having experienced prenatal exposure due to their mother’s use of substances during pregnancy. The short- and long-term effects vary by substance and many other family and environmental factors.

The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW), a program of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), prepared this document to support policy makers, administrators, and service providers. The goal of the document is to foster collaborative responses across multiple systems to improve safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for infants, recovery for their parents, and to meet the needs of families and caregivers.