A Saint John research team will study how government policy impacts vulnerable women and children.

The New Brunswick Social Pediatrics Research Program has received a total of $150,000 in grants.

That includes a $90,000 grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and $60,000 from ResearchNB.

Dr. Sarah Gander and her team will examine four years of data collected through the Parent-Child Assistance Program, which provides support to birthing people who use drugs or alcohol during pregnancy.

They will be looking for factors that impact health and social outcomes for birthing people and their children.

Gander said she hopes the project will result in real policy change to help families.

“Our team has witnessed the real-life consequences of policies that can be inequitable, punitive, and stigmatizing and reverberate over generations,” Gander said in a news release.

“We will be quantifying this in a way that we hope informs evidence-based policy decisions and promotes a healthier future for families.”

Gander’s project was one of 60 included in a $9-million announcement by federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos earlier this summer.