The London centre will take referrals of children in care from courts and local authorities to carry out needs assessments and match them with appropriate foster carers or adopters.
Assessments will be carried out by a group of experts called the Foetally Affected Children's Team, which includes centre director and consultant paediatrician Dr Mary Mather and Dr Raja Mukherjee, a learning disability consultant paediatrician at Surrey and Border Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Other members of the team will include a research psychologist, an education adviser, a nutritionist and speech and occupational therapists.
A spokeswoman for the centre said: "These children can have complex needs that are not immediately noticeable so it is important there is a multi-agency team of experts in place to carry out a thorough assessment. "
Also involved are parents who have adopted children that have been foetally affected by alcohol or drugs. As well as assessments, the centre will run support groups and seminars for carers.
www.parentsforchildren.org.uk.
