Women and Family Addiction Services

A Solution that Works: Family- Focused Residential Treatment

Impact of Opioid Crisis on Mothers and Children

Women face a growing opioid crisis and children are suffering. Heroin deaths among women increased at more than twice the rate than among men. Opioid use among women giving birth has almost quadrupled in a decade, while the incidence of neonatal drug withdrawal syndrome (NAS) grew almost 5 fold in the same period. And, Child Welfare systems are deluged with children entering foster care due to parental drug use.

Solutions that Work

Experts agree on what works. Recent reports by expert panels, recognize the necessity of specialized solutions for pregnant and post-partum women. Recommendations include family centered approaches that keep families together. When mothers and children receive residential treatment together, the maternal bond is maintained, children thrive, and mothers are motivated to achieve long-term recovery. The investment also saves money by reducing neonatal intensive care days, reducing costs of drug overdoses and eliminating the expense of more children in the child welfare system.

Our Model for Mother and Child Residential Recovery

Our residential recovery centers help children and mothers reach their full potential.

Centers are located in California, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Volunteers of America partners with federal-state agencies through competitive grant programs, including SAMSHA’s Pregnant and Post-Partum Women service grants and the Regional partnership Grants, state Opioid grants, local government support and philanthropic support. Our model is distinguished for its -

• Family-centered continuum of treatment and recovery using evidence-based practices
• Care that includes residential treatment, intensive outpatient treatment and on-going recovery support.
• Gender-specific and trauma-informed practices and parenting education and support
• Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in conjunction with licenses MAT providers
• Integration of behavioral and physical health care, psychological and emotional safety and support
• Close work with child welfare systems to support family preservation and reunification
• Aftercare supports, including housing, transportation, employment and education counseling

Advocacy for Family-Focused Residential Treatment for Parents with Children The demand for family-focused residential treatment has expanded with the opioid crisis. However, with fewer than 300 facilities nation-wide there is a dire shortage of parent-child treatment. Volunteers is a leader in advocating for more residential treatment such as that the new Opioid bill will offer. With support of the Annie. E. Casey Foundation, we are producing a directory of all family-focused residential treatment programs that keeps parents and children together. We also share our experience and recommendations in forums, such as the Hill Briefing last spring hosted by Majority Leader McConnell, and recently to the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth.