| Sumario: | Objectives: The US opioid epidemic contributes to a growing population of children experiencing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). A review of the developmental impacts of the opioid crisis highlights that both prenatal exposure to teratogens and ACEs can result in developmental delay and disabilities. Training for the early intervention/early childhood (EI) systems is needed to enable them to meet the needs of this growing population. Methods: To address this, an IRB-approved online training on best practices for NAS, developmental monitoring and referral, and trauma-informed care was created for Ohio EI providers who provided informed consent to participate. The feasibility of utilizing an online training was assessed. Knowledge on opioid addiction, NAS, ACEs, and early intervention provider characteristics were collected for 2973 participants. Results: Within 6 months, the training reached providers in all Ohio counties and seventeen other states. 57% of providers reported caring for one or more children with a caregiver who has confirmed opioid use. 31% reported these children had experienced four or more ACEs. Providers' ACEs awareness was moderately associated with their experiences with prenatally-exposed youth. There was a significant increase in knowledge following training. Differences in post-training knowledge differed only by county-level opioid death rates, where those providers with low-medium opioid death rates reported more awareness of children with prenatal opioid exposure compared to participants who lived in a county with medium and medium-high opioid death rates. Conclusions: Online-training is feasible for closing gaps in the early intervention system. Significance: What is already known on this subject? The opioid epidemic in the United States has claimed millions of lives in the past two decades. The epidemic is associated with neonatal abstinence syndrome and traumatic event exposure to young children, which has detrimental effects on children's development. Young children affected by the opioid epidemic are being referred at high rates to early intervention services. What this study adds? We consolidated the evidence-based research on the topics and provided them in an asynchronous web-based training to the early childhood workforce. We then examined the feasibility and significance of the training on early childhood workforce knowledge.
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