Because maternal drug abuse often necessitates the use of alternative caregivers for children via legal or informal arrangements, the measures are suitable for biological mothers, fathers, and grandparents; professional foster parents; and other designated primary caregivers. The discussion considers the significance of the measures in evaluating the efficacy of maternal intervention programs and in understanding children's prenatal drug exposure. The paper also reviews conceptual dimensions of caregiving, assessment procedures used in the home and in the laboratory, and level of analysis (behavioral counts versus rating scales). Comments on the strengths and pitfalls of specific measures are offered, including a system for rating maternal care behavior, home observations to measure the environment, the Purue Home Stimulation Inventory, Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training scales, the Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale, mother/child rating scales, and face-to-face interaction. The author notes that caregiving interactions between adults and children are manifested in various different contexts and can be measured using different data collection strategies. She also indicates that multiple measures exist through which to better understand the development of children prenatal exposed to drugs and through which to evaluate changes in caregiver behavior associated with early intervention. 63 references