Young, single, substance-abusing mothers face a big hurdle to entering inpatient treatment: What do they do with their child?
“Sometimes, family has kind of cut them off. Sometimes, they have no family. So, what happens is that mother just doesn’t seek out treatment. And this generational issue of use, abuse, poverty just continues to repeat itself,” said Jared Sanford, CEO of Lifeline Connections, which provides substance abuse and mental health treatment.
Women in Clark County can be referred to Pregnant and Parenting Women programs around the state, but there isn’t anything offered locally. The closest program is in Longview and operated by the Drug Abuse Prevention Center. There are also programs in Everett, Spokane, Yakima and north Seattle.
“Once again it’s that barrier of trying to travel with a child to Longview, to wherever. It’s also capacity; there aren’t a lot of these beds available,” Sanford said. “We found there’s a real need for this type of program in our community.”
Existing space a plus
His Vancouver-based nonprofit looks to fill that need by starting its own Pregnant and Parenting Women program serving 16 women and up to 18 children younger than 5. It would be located in the back of 2924 Falk Road, a building in the Bagley Downs neighborhood owned by Janus Youth Services. Daybreak Youth Services’ inpatient treatment facility for boys currently occupies that space, but it’ll be vacated soon as that program moves in mid-May to a retrofitted church in Brush Prairie now being called The RWC Center for Adolescent Recovery.
It’s hard to find existing inpatient space. The benefit of using Janus’ building, Sanford said, is that it’s already built for this specific service. Opposition from neighbors isn’t really an issue because it’s already a treatment facility.
Renovations needed
Lifeline would lease the space from Janus for $7,000 monthly. The building would first need to be renovated to accommodate women, babies and children. Sanford estimates that work would take 30 to 45 days.
Changes include new paint, new carpet and a playground in the back. Like any other residential treatment facility, it will be licensed by the state Department of Health, but it will also be licensed by the Department of Early Learning because there will be therapeutic child care.
“There’s a whole other list of requirements we have to meet,” Sanford said.
He said Lifeline has to raise $500,000 to cover the costs of the remodeling, furniture and supplies. So far, $207,000 has been raised and Lifeline is waiting for the results of other grants. Sanford hopes to open the facility at the beginning of 2018, but that hinges on getting funding and staff in place.
Pregnant women are already prioritized among adults trying to enter Lifeline’s inpatient programs. Pregnant women and those with young children face unusual challenges better addressed in a program tailored to them, Sanford said.
Adults in Lifeline’s existing 44-bed inpatient program stay an average of 30 days, but women and their children could stay in the Pregnant and Parenting Women program for up to six months. Mothers will be working on changing behaviors, the way they think and act, and lining up resources for when they exit the program.
Sometimes, they will work on their own or with other mothers. Meanwhile, the children will be in day care, learning to build coping skills. Other times, mothers will work with their children building parenting skills or “repairing some of those relationships that might have been damaged because of their use and abuse,” Sanford said. Expectant mothers will be learning how to be new moms. Many will give birth while they’re in the program. In situations where the mother used drugs while pregnant, their newborn will stay at the hospital until they’re healthy enough to be released back to the mother under the oversight of Lifeline Connections and Child Protective Services.
“We stop that cycle so the child doesn’t find themselves in that same situation their mother was in: poverty, addiction, those kind of things,” Sanford said. “That’s the exciting thing about this program. That’s really a tangible thing.”
Part of learning is making mistakes, but they’ll have a structured environment that’s staffed 24/7 to practice what they’re taught.
“That way when they discharge, they’re ready to go. They’re ready to live these important skills they’re practicing,” Sanford said.
Besides purchasing a facility to house these families, Lifeline would like to get a van for outings. Women would learn how to have safe, productive fun with their children.
“When you look at someone who’s been using drugs and alcohol heavily, they’re not engaging their child appropriately. They’re not going to the zoo. They’re not going to the park. They’re not doing those things because they’re preoccupied,” Sanford said. “And also, they might not feel comfortable or know how to appropriately engage their child because they haven’t been taught that or they’re so involved in their drug use that it’s not a priority.”
Everett example
Pregnant and Parenting Women will cost about $215 daily for a mother and her child. Lifeline would typically be reimbursed through Medicaid. Sanford plans to nearly duplicate the curriculum and staffing levels used by Evergreen Recovery Centers’ inpatient program in Everett, called Evergreen Manor.
The program began in 1999, and about 100 women go through it every year, said Linda Grant, CEO of Evergreen Recovery Centers.
Grant has helped start Pregnant and Parenting Women programs around the state because she sees the value in patients remaining local.
“They have ties to the community that they need to keep,” she said.
Women in her program may have a school-age child or grandparents that tether them to an area. Most mothers don’t enter the program with their children, but have custody when they exit the program.
“A lot of the moms in our program go on to school. They may already be college students, but they go on to graduate school,” Grant said.
Studies of Evergreen Recovery Centers’ program have found that babies born to participants have better prenatal care and 66 percent better birth weight. Mothers are less stressed about parenting and there are 35 percent fewer reports of inadequate parenting among women who took part in treatment.
Data collected by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment between 1996 and 2001 found that clients exited Pregnant and Parenting Women programs physically and mentally healthier, and less likely to relapse. The risk of premature delivery, low birth weight and infant death was lower for women in treatment, compared with women who were actively using.
Among those surveyed, employment rose from 7 percent pre-treatment to 37 percent post-treatment. Clients in vocational or educational training grew from 2 percent to 19 percent. Most clients reported before treatment that they had been arrested in the last year. Only 13 percent of clients reported being arrested within six months of exiting treatment.
These women were also less likely to live with a spouse or partner who was abusing substances; it declined from 45 percent of clients pre-treatment to 12 percent. Unhealthy relationships are considered a key factor in perpetuating substance abuse among women.
