NCJ Number
164643
Journal
Thrust Dated: (January 1990) Pages: 23-26
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The ability of schools to serve children exposed to crack or other drugs during their mothers' pregnancy will depend on a timely response by cooperative local agencies; two school districts in California have developed programs to address this issue.
Abstract
An estimated 10 to 15 percent of babies born in urban public hospitals in California are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Little attention has been given to the problems these children will experience when they enter school. The neurological implications and the potential for intervention remain unclear. The most immediate needs are to develop cooperative alliances with child care providers, families, schools, and health care professionals in the hope of improving behavior and learning; to study the specific ways in which neurological damage caused by prenatal exposure to drugs is expressed in social behavior and academic deficits; and to conduct research in this area. Another need is for research and implementation strategies to assist teachers. The Los Angeles and Sausalito have responded to the cocaine problem with programs that can offer special assistance for families of drug-exposed children. Photograph