Supporting Children of the Opioid Crisis
Project Description:
The focus of this project is to educate early childhood practitioners to better support children of the opioid epidemic. The training is a distance-based professional learning and development program that will include information on the following topics: 1.The current status of the opiate epidemic, 2.Basic brain development related to the biology of addiction, 3.Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)/ Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) and other developmental outcomes of prenatal exposures, 4.Trauma-informed care, including strategies to work with children in the classroom, 5.Information on practices to implement when concerns arise with a childs development, 6.The impact of this work on the care provider/secondary traumatic stress and strategies to support caregivers.
The Nisonger Center is partnering with the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) at Wyoming University and the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for this project. Nisonger Center and Cincinnati have developed and piloted the curriculum. WIND led the development of the ECHO network for implementation of the curriculum to promote practices that support children and families impacted by opioid misuse. Project ECHO is a distance-based professional learning and development program model for health care providers, based on videoconferencing, case-based learning, and ongoing disease management. WIND has successfully translated this model for education, and will utilize this expertise with the NAS/NOWS grant. Through the piloting of the curriculum and interdisciplinary training model, this initiative is intended to link research to practical application in local communities, improve outcomes, provide opportunities to share knowledge and findings with national networks and federal agencies, and to provide recommendations for future interventions.
Keyword(s):
Opioid, trauma, children
Core Function(s):
Continuing Education/Community Training
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Child Care-Related Activities, Health-Related Activities, Other - Cultural Diversity
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Urban
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
National
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
