No social problem is more significant in its impact on children entering foster care than drug abuse and drug addiction. In particular, illicit use of opiates and other drugs of dependency during a mother's pregnancy not only puts the newborn child at risk for withdrawal but also for longterm social and psychological problems. According to a 1994 study by the U.S. General Accounting Office, more than sixty percent of young foster children were found to be at high risk of problems as a result of prenatal drug use.

Janet, a 2-year-old girl, was referred to MPP for treatment foster care services in the spring of 2006. She displayed a picture of developmental devastation. Her mother was a crack cocaine addict and used this drug throughout her pregnancy. At birth Janet was premature and displayed the newborn drug withdrawal syndrome common to children born to drug abusing mothers. In short Janet functioned as a drug affected, developmentally delayed, failure to thrive child. It is hard to imagine the profound difficulty of caring for a child as non-responsive as Janet.

At two years Janet had absolutely no speech. She was unable to walk, did not cry, and appeared emotionally flat and unresponsive to others. These problems compound every other problem for a child like Janet. In addition to the obvious problems with the social environment, children without speech suffer severe and pervasive damage to their developmental capability.

MPP was able to find a foster parent willing to take on the challenge of loving and nurturing a child with such severe problems. The uniquely loving and attuned environment created by the foster family began almost immediately to make a difference for Janet. The changes were at first almost imperceptible to the social worker. During visits the family was always enthusiastically pointing out small changes in Janet’s functioning and smothering the child in loving attention to encourage her. Janet slowly but surely began to demonstrate changes that were noticeable and significant.

She is now walking, imitates sounds, displays a range of receptive and expressive behaviors and understands directives from the foster parents. Most importantly Janet has been able to reestablish a viable connection with a loving parental social environment that holds the keys to her future success and development. The ultimate success for this child lies in the fact that the foster family is willing to adopt if legal termination of parental rights (TPR) does occurs.