INDIANAPOLIS — Officials with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration recently announced plans to expand the state’s pregnancy promise program to support more expectant and new mothers with substance use disorders.
According to a news release from the administration on Thursday, the Indiana FSSA received a three-year, up to $2.7 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, allowing the FSSA to support an additional 300 pregnant Hoosiers over the next three years. This grant is scheduled to begin at the end of September.
The Indiana FSSA said in the release that it will focus the new federal grant funds on those living in rural and under-resourced communities. This particular grant is expected to expand services for pregnant and postpartum individuals with a primary diagnosis of a substance use disorder, help remove barriers and expand outpatient treatment and recovery support services.
“The program’s multigeneration approach supports pregnant women and infants from the prenatal period through 12 months postpartum,” FSSA Secretary Dr. Dan Rusyniak said in the release. “Not only are we helping mothers find treatment and sustain recovery, but we also ensure infants have an established pediatrician, appropriate referrals to pediatric specialists as needed and developmental support services.”
The program has helped mothers throughout Indiana have high rates of sustained recovery as well as:
- Continuity of medications prescribed to treat opioid use disorder
- Prevention of preterm births
- Healthy infant birth weights
- Access to resources to address unlet health related and social needs,including
- Stable housing
- Transportation
- Food security
- Child care
Since it launched in 2021, the pregnancy promise program has supported more than 900 mothers, according to the release. Officials said that substance use disorder and overdose continues to be a leading cause of maternal death in the state of Indiana.
Through the new grant funds, the FSSA is expected to partner with Centerstone, a community mental health center, as well as VOA Fresh Start, a residential treatment program, to enhance services.
“We are excited about this grant, which will bolster and expand FSSA’s existing program for pregnant individuals suffering from substance-use,” Pregnancy Promise program manager Elizabeth Wahl said in the release. “The program’s goals are clear — to save infant and maternal lives, preserve family units by securing needed resources, ensure reliable access to appropriate care and put an end to generational cycles of substance use and trauma. This program has witnessed families persevere, transform their lives and find hope for the future.”
For more information, and to make a confidential referral, click here.
