Madres Sanas, Ninos Sanos (MSNS, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Children) - The United Community Center’s (UCC) Madres Sanas, Ninos Sanos (MSNS, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Children) will serve 226 pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) with substance use disorders (SUD) or co-occurring SUD and mental health disorders (COD), along with their infants and children, who reside in Milwaukee County, WI. The project will address the shortage of family-based SUD treatment options for PPW and their children in Milwaukee
Services will be delivered within the context of UCC’s multi-program community center serving MC’s Hispanic community. While the UCC SUD treatment program serves individuals of all races/ethnicities, in 2017, 30.3% of those served were Hispanic, more than twice the proportion of Hispanics (14.5%) who live in the County as a whole. According to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s office, 404 people died from opioid overdose in 2019, the highest annual total ever recorded. The zip codes with the most deaths were 52204 (38 deaths) and 53215 (46), the two zip codes representing the heart of UCC’s service area. The Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division (BHD) reports that 26.2% of individuals reported opioids as their primary substance at intake. In contrast, fully 65.5% (205 of 313) of women seeking treatment at UCC in 2019 reported their primary substance as opioids. A consistent finding across research studies is the markedly elevated risk of adverse birth outcomes for women who abuse alcohol/drugs during their pregnancies. In 2017 Milwaukee’s infant mortality rate (IMR), at 12.6 deaths per 1,000 births, ranked 3rd highest among the 50 largest cities in the U.S. UCC will admit PPW to MSNS who meet criteria for residential level of care. UCC operates two residential facilities with 32 beds including family suites so children can reside with their mothers. However, the entire continuum of care (day treatment and outpatient) will be available when women are ready to step down to a lower level of care. Each PPW will be assigned a recovery support coordinator (RSC) who will assist her to develop an Recovery Plan of Care (RPOC) based on a comprehensive assessment of her clinical and psychosocial needs as well as those of her family. The major MSNS treatment framework will be The Matrix Model with other evidence-based practices to be implemented including, Seeking Safety to address the trauma histories and symptoms that commonly co-occur with SUD, onsite medication-assisted treatment to address the significant proportion of participants with opioid used disorders, and the trauma-focused Nurturing Program which addresses the mother child bond. UCC has put together a robust network of community partners that will offer supportive services from housing to pre/postnatal care, to child/family services, to education/employment services. Measurable objectives include: treatment retention, decrease substance use, decreased mental/health/trauma symptoms, improved child health/wellbeing, improved parenting attitudes, progress on economic self-sufficiency, access to stable housing, and connection to social supports.
