The impact of drug-exposed children on family foster care.

To determine whether infants exposed to drugs during gestation present special challenges in family foster care, data on 204 infants were reviewed. Developmental functioning, health and caregiving needs, visits by biological parents, and case dispositions were compared across drug-exposure groups. Infants with verified drug exposure presented with significantly more health and caregiving needs, had fewer biological parent visits, and were more frequently placed with relatives after family foster care. Findings are discussed in terms of their impact on family foster care in the next century.