Monday, May 13, 2024
5/13/2024
LifeStream Behavioral Center, Inc., a comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment facility located in Central Florida, proposes to increase residential treatment services for low income, substance misusing women, age 18 and over, who are pregnant or postpartum and their minor children (age 17 and under) in Central Florida. The population of focus will be traditionally underserved populations, especially racial and ethnic minority women. Due to the high morbidity and mortality rates of pregnant women and their infants among African Americans, focused outreach efforts towards this population will be included in the program design. The requested $524,000 per year will purchase an additional 9 residential treatment beds to treat 18 women and their minor children each year of the grant. Over the life of the project, LifeStream proposes to serve 90 women, 180 children and 180 family members. In the targeted area that LifeStream serves, access to specialized residential treatment services is severely limited due to inadequate capacity and the lack of specialized gender specific care. Women are faced with long wait lists to be accepted into residential treatment. In addition, all residential treatment programs in the area that serve the target population have age restrictions on the children that can reside with their mothers or limit the services to infants and/or toddlers. In most cases, pregnant and postpartum women are placed into a less restrictive modality that cannot accommodate their needs, or not placed into appropriate treatment resulting in continued use and unnecessary societal costs. It is critical to secure this funding to better serve the women and their children in Central Florida.By providing a comprehensive array of culturally sensitive and gender specific services to meet the multiple needs of this population, LifeStream’s existing Anthony House Pregnant and Post-Partum Women’s Program will decrease the incidence and prevalence of substance use among women, provide a safe and stable environment for both the mother and child/ren, provide linkages to needed medical services, and provide housing placements, thus, in turn, reducing the likelihood of return episodes. The program will also enhance the healthy development of children. The goals of the program include: 1) Expand the community’s capacity to provide a comprehensive array of culturally appropriate, gender specific treatment services for the pregnant and/or postpartum substance abusing women and their children; 2) Decrease unstable environments among women and their children by providing housing, employment and other critical service linkages; and 3) Improve the overall behavioral and physical health. The following outcomes have been identified: 1) decrease use and/or abuse of prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco, illicit and other harmful drugs; 2) increase safe and healthy pregnancies; improve birth outcomes and reduce related effects of maternal drug abuse on infants and children; 3) improve mental and physical health of women and children; and 4) improve family functioning, economic stability and quality of life.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
