Project NESST (Newborns Exposed to Substances: Support and Therapy) is run by the Jewish Family and Children’s Service in Boston. It works to address the impact of substance use and trauma on parents’ mental health and infants exposed to opioids and other drugs. Services include:

• pre-delivery planning
• hospital support
• infant-parent therapy
• case management to link with other resources
• instruction on mitigating infant discomfort
• providing technical assistance to other stakeholders on the treatment and care of opioid-exposed newborns

Since its inception in 2013, NESST has served over 85 families, most involved in the child welfare system, and has trained over 1,600 providers. The program has conducted an in-depth needs assessment to further refine its services and inform policymakers on how to best treat neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) while increasing maternal capacities and strengthening the parent-infant bond.

More information on the program can be found in this presentation.