MOST OFTEN ASKED QUESTIONS

How were we able to open a Center such as ours in the State of Washington?
Our Washington State Legislature was aware of the extent of the extreme number of substance abusing women delivering babies. They also recognized the dire need of a safe and cost effective way to withdraw the babies and a center specifically dedicated to these little ones.

How are we funded?
We are a line item in the Legislative Budget, which covers over one-half of our annual budget.

Are you involved with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS)?
Yes, we contract out  seventeen (17) of our beds to DSHS. Because we serve a statewide agency, our babies come from all four corners of Washington.

How many children do you typically help in a month?
Our average daily census runs about 15 to 17 infants per day, but many times we run over the state contracted 17.

When PICC is caring for more than 17 babies, does the State pay for the additional babies?
No. We have always had to reach out to the community  to help us when we had more than 17 babies. In the past, we were extremely fortunate to have the Bill & Melinda Gate's Foundation generously provide for those babies who would have not otherwise been supported by DSHS. However, that grant was for only two years.

What drugs have you seen in the past few months and what are their effects?
The most common drugs the infants have been exposed to in utero are prescription drugs, methadone, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines. We are also seeing numerous psychotropic drugs such as the anti-depressants: Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac to name a few.

How do we choose what babies come to PICC?
It is a rarity not to accept an infant that has been identified to come to PICC. Sequence of placements start as:
--Infant at home in need of medical oversight which does not qualify for hospital care.
--Infants with opiate exposure Infants prenatally exposed to mothers substance abuse.
--Infants that are diagnosed as “failure to thrive” or “abused”.

 Do you recommend breast-feeding for a baby prenatally exposed to mother substance abuse?
Absolutely not! Why would anyone intentionally offer a baby heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, methadone or any other dangerous drug? To think that these drugs do not pass thru the breast milk is wrong. Cocaine, for instance, passes through the breast milk at a much more concentrated rate than in utero. To encourage a mother on more than 40mg methadone to breast feed is allowing her baby to ingest drugs.

Have other states or countries contacted PICC for help in understanding the need of drug-exposed infants? Have many wanted to design a similar program in their country?
People from numerous countries and states have come to the center to learn about drug-exposed infants. Many have inquired as to how to identify and manage a center such as ours. Some of the countries that have visited the center are Israel, Vietnam, Denmark, Canada, England, Sweden and Japan. Many have expressed a desire to open a center such as ours, but to the best of our knowledge, no one has yet.

Compare the long-term effects
In regards to illegal drugs there does not have to be any long-term problems if the caregiver possesses good parenting skills. Offering the child structure, continuity, parameters, and boundaries along with introducing stimuli (light, sound, touch, etc.) slowly, these children are going to do very well. Without this, yes, there may be residual effects but this is not the effect of the drug but the result of the assigned caregiver. Please remember in most cases the caregiver is the make or break factor whether or not there is drug involvement.