|
What is Los Pasos?
Los Pasos is a service demonstration
program funded by the Abandoned Infants Assistance program in the US
Department of Health and Human Services. The program serves families with young children,
birth to three, affected by drug and alcohol use during pregnancy. Emphasis is placed
on helping parents meet their children’s needs by building on family strengths.
Los Pasos is Spanish for “steps” and
program components unfold in a way that helps families take the steps
needed to effectively parent their children. Los Pasos is a voluntary program that helps families with the
issues they want to work on. It is not a drug treatment program.
Specialized approaches that are employed
include harm reduction and strategies
for engaging families derived from the brief, solution-focused therapy
movement.
How does Los Pasos work?
Eligible families are asked to enroll for at least six months. After
that point, the family and program staff decide together on the best course of action.
Many families stay in the program for another six months, another full year, or
all the way to their child’s third birthday. Others choose to move on. As
long as the family is involved, Los Pasos makes available to the family a
multidisciplinary team of clinicians that provides:
Who does Los Pasos serve and how are families referred to the
program?
Clients are children, birth to approximately age three, who were exposed to drugs
in the prenatal period. Los Pasos also works closely with their families. Many of the children
in Los Pasos are in single parent households or cared for by other caregivers (relatives and
foster parents). Referrals come mostly from the Women’s Health unit at University
Hospital, the newborn nurseries in other area hospitals, and the New
Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department along with self-referrals.
Contact Information
Andrew Hsi, M.D., Director
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Department of Pediatrics
Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505)272-3142 fax: (505) 272-6847
e-mail:lospasos@salud.unm.edu
Los Pasos is supported by grant #
90-CB-0098 from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Additional support is provided by the New Mexico Department of Health,
Long Term Services Division, the UNMHSC and the New Mexico Legislature
|
