The Substance Exposed Newborns (SEN) Plans of Safe Care Work Group is a voluntary, statewide collaborative that operates under the SEN Steering Committee and aims to support implementation of Plans of Safe Care at community, hospital, and county child welfare levels. Between 2018-2020, the Work Group developed Plans of Safe Care Guidelines and Checklists, supported a Hospital & Count Child Welfare Pilot Project, and engaged in community education about Plans of Safe Care requirements.

To support the next stages of this work and the broader goals of the Steering Committee, the Plans of Safe Care Work Group is focused on the following for 2021-2022:

• Monitoring: Monitor other state approaches to implementation.
• Advising: Advise and provide consultation on hospital-county pilots in order to identify and clearly communicate best practice recommendations, including regarding how to ensure equitable implementation, how to begin Plans of Safe Care development in the prenatal period, and how to ensure Plans of Safe Care are a living document.
• Providing system or region-specific expertise: Offer insight to how best practice recommendations may need to be adapted to translate to other hospital systems or counties (electronic medical record systems, practice guidelines, workflows, referral options, cultural considerations, etc.).
• Coordinating: Focus efforts on regional hospital and child welfare coordination, alignment with existing efforts across the state, as well as on identification of community programs and perspectives to expand/inform implementation.

Learn more about the SEN Plans of Safe Care Work Group here, and sign up to receive meeting information, including agendas, notes, and joining information here.