West Virginia Gets Grant to Help Pregnant Women with Addiction Recovery

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded a $2.7 million federal grant to West Virginia to help pregnant women struggling with substance abuse.

This is one of four grants from the State Pilot Grant Program for Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women. The money from the grant will go toward an existing program in the state to help expand its services. The program, Drug Free Moms and Babies (DFMB), is a medical and behavioral health program for pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders.

In addition, the grant will also establish a state project director position within the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Bureau for Behavioral health. The director will be responsible for coordinating an effective state continuum of care, specifically supporting women.

“With the help of our partners, this grant will enable us to further support pregnant and postpartum women and families impacted by the ongoing opioid epidemic,” said Christina Mullins, Commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau for Behavioral Health. “We remain committed to expanding access to family-centered services that address substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery across West Virginia.”

Breakdown of the Grant Money

• $785,000 of the grant will go the Drug Free Moms and Babies program each year.
• This will go to 17 Drug Free Moms and Babies sites.
• The 16 existing sites will each get $32,000 per year.
• The new site that is connected to Grant Memorial Hospital will receive $80,000 a year.
• The remaining $115,000 will go toward a state project director to help continue to care for women’s behavioral health care.
• The grant will begin on Oct. 1.

Drug Free Moms and Babies Program

The West Virginia Perinatal Partnership started the Drug-Free Moms and Babies program in 2011. Funding for the program comes from the DHHR, the Bureau for Behavior Health, the Bureau for Public Health, the Office of Maternal, Child, and Family Health, and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

Some of the main services the program provides are :

• Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (SBIRT) services
• Collaboration with community partners
• Long term follow up 
• Program evaluation 
• Provider outreach education 

GrantNews Notes

GrantWatch offers a category for substance abuse grants and one for mental health grants. Additionally, GrantWatch has a category dedicated to grants for women.

Make sure to sign up for a paid GrantWatch subscription to gain access to all our resources.