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Office of Drug Control Policy

State Pilot Grant Program for Pregnant and Parenting Women

5/22/2023

​​The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Behavioral Health (BBH) was awarded the State Pilot Grant Program for Pregnant and Postpartum Women (PPW-PLT), a three-year, $2.7 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The purpose of the PPW-PLT grant is to: (1) support family-based services for pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) with a primary diagnosis of a substance use disorder (SUD), emphasizing the treatment of opioid use disorders; (2) help state substance use agencies address the continuum of care, including services provided to PPW in nonresidential-based settings; and (3) promote a coordinated, effective and efficient state system managed by state substance abuse agencies by encouraging new approaches and models of service delivery, inclusive of the following: 

  • Outreach, engagement, screening, and assessment; 
  • Wraparound/recovery support services (e.g., childcare, vocational, educational, and transportation services) designed to improve access to and retention in services; 
  • Services that provide a continuum of care, including outpatient levels of care and access to residential care as indicated for the needs of the woman and her family if needed; 
  • Family-focused programs to support family strengthening and reunification, including parenting education, evidence-based interventions and social and recreational activities; 
  • Clinically appropriate evidence-based practices (EBPs) for the treatment of persons with a primary diagnosis of SUDs, including opioid use disorders (OUDs). Clinical treatment may include evidence-based outpatient and intensive outpatient services; 
  • Case management services; 
  • Promote effective and efficient coordination and delivery of services across multiple systems and providers (e.g., behavioral health, primary care, housing, child and family services); 
  • Provide HIV and hepatitis testing and the appropriate care or linkages to care as a result of such testing; and 
  • Implement a tobacco/nicotine cessation program and ensure clients have appropriate education on the risks of nicotine/tobacco use during pregnancy. 

BBH’s Office of Adult Substance Use Disorder, Division of Women’s Health Services, partners with the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership’s Drug-Free Moms and Babies (DFMB) program to meet the goals of the grant. The DFMB program, with 18 sites throughout the state, provides comprehensive and integrative medical and behavioral health services for pregnant and postpartum women. The program supports healthy baby outcomes by providing prevention, early intervention, addiction treatment, and recovery support services for pregnant and postpartum women with OUD and SUD. 

During the first 18 months of the PPW-PLT grant (September 30, 2022, through March 31, 2023), funding provided support for the following:

  • A total of 683 women were screened and entered a DFMB program (surpassing the goal
  • of 475).
  • More than half (54.3%) of the women served by the DFMB program were between the ages of 25 and 34; 31.4% were 18 - 24 years of age, and 10.9% were 35 - 44. 
  • The majority of the women receiving DFMB services reported their race as White (84.7%), while 7.2% reported their race as Black or African American.
  • 5.9% of DFMB clients reported their ethnicity as Hispanic.
  • At intake, 58.3% of the participants reported they were either employed or attending school. 
  • Three out of four (75%) DFMB clients reported they had stability in housing.
  • Trained 150 providers who serve PPW with SUD/OUD on providing family-centered treatment and recovery support services.
  • Trained 150 service providers on trauma-informed care.
  • Trained more than 150 service providers on tobacco cessation at the WV Perinatal Summit during a presentation titled “Revoking Smoke and Escaping Vape: Preparing Providers to Fight Tobacco Harms for Mothers and Babies.”
  • The Baby and Me Tobacco Free cessation program was implemented at 11 DFMB sites
  • (exceeding the goal of 8 sites).
  • Wraparound recovery support services were provided to PPW to improve access and
  • retention in SUD/OUD services.
  • Linked PPW with SUD/OUD to family planning services, and providers were trained on “Love YourBirth Control - Shared Decision Making.”
  • Submitted a needs assessment and disparities impact statement to SAMHSA.​

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