Providing Collaborative Care for Native Pregnant Women With Substance Use Disorders and Their Infants

In 2014, the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) launched the Substance Exposed Infants (SEI) In-Depth Technical Assistance (IDTA) program to advance the capacity of states, tribes and their community partner agencies to improve the safety, health, permanency and well-being of infants with prenatal substance exposure and the recovery of pregnant and parenting women and their families. Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS) was selected to participate in the first round of SEIIDTA along with five other states: Connecticut, Kentucky, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

The intent of the SEI-IDTA program is to improve outcomes for infants and their families at each point of intervention based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Five-Point Intervention Framework (i.e., the prepregnancy, prenatal, birth, infancy and childhood timeframes). The intensive program is designed to strengthen collaboration among child welfare services, substance use disorder treatment programs, maternal and infant healthcare providers, early care and education programs, home visiting services and other key partners.