The AKPQC partners with the State of Alaska’s Substance-Exposed Newborns Initiative (SENI) to promote high quality universal verbal prenatal/postpartum screening with appropriate follow up: which is a recommended, evidence-based practice. SENI was developed in response to the overwhelming acknowledgment that the health care system can and must improve our care of pregnant and parenting people with substance use issues. Identification of those who are experiencing risks for harmful substance use during their pregnancy is a crucial step in their care.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and SAMHSA, along with multiple other organizations, recommend that universal substance use screening with a validated tool be part of routine prenatal and postpartum care. Screening should be accompanied by appropriate follow-up, such as a brief intervention and referral to treatment as outlined in a SBIRT framework.

The SENI program supports health care providers to implement and maintain perinatal substance use screening in 3 main ways:

• Provides on-line and in-person Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) trainings. SBIRT gives staff the tools and confidence to universally screen as well as offer timely intervention to improve patient outcomes.

• Pays the licensing costs for clinical facilities who choose to use the 4P’s Plus©, a screening instrument for tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. 4P’s Plus© also engages patients about intimate partner violence and depression/anxiety and is specifically validated for use during pregnancy.

• Tracks screening rates for participating facilities in conjunction with the AKPQC

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If your facility or practice is interested in receiving information about screenings, staff training in SBIRT, and how SENI can support you, please email seni@alaska.gov.

History of SENI
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In 2016, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Divisions of Behavioral (DBH) and Public Health (DPH), Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention (OSMAP), and hospitals in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Palmer launched a project to screen childbearing people being admitted for childbirth for harmful substances, domestic violence, depression, and desire for subsequent pregnancy. ​

In addition to paying the copyright fees allowing the use of the 4Ps + screening tool by Alaskan facilities, SENI has supported clinicians to provide evidence-based care for pregnant women and their infants through SBIRT training, encouraging use of the Eat, Sleep, Console model of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome management, and development of Plans of Safe Care for infants and families with substance exposure.