Welcome to the Iowa Children’s Justice Toolkit for Parents and professionals

The Parents’ Toolkit is for parents – biological, adoptive, foster, in whatever shape or form their family exists – who are raising children affected by prenatal exposure to substances of abuse and for professionals who provide services to pregnant and parenting women and their children.  The common thread for all of the families is that they are dealing with the consequences of alcohol or drug use during pregnancy. 

In developing this toolkit, we have tried to address the most common questions and concerns that parents have about their children who are affected by exposure to alcohol or drugs during pregnancy.  These children often are referred to as “high-risk,” but we want to look beyond the label of “risk” to a path for intervention and treatment.  Importantly, we want to provide parents with “in the moment” information that can help them look beyond the behaviors they see to understand the basis of that behavior. Ultimately, we hope to facilitate a dialogue among parents in Iowa who care for this special population of children, professionals from a variety of disciplines who provide assessment and treatment services, and policy makers whose decisions affect the ultimate path of the children’s lives.  We want to bring everyone to an understanding that labels of risk do not necessarily predict potential; risk is not destiny. 

Children’s Bureau Regional Partnership Grants 5 (90CU0097-01-00)