Behavioral Health Announces KY-Moms
Program Focuses on Substance Use in Pregnant Women
FRANKFORT, KY. (April 7, 2017) –
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) is building on its
collaboration with social services organizations and community partners to provide
pregnant and parenting women with the education, guidance, and coordination of
services needed to reach substance use recovery goals. KY-Moms provides prevention and case management services for
mothers at risk of developing substance use disorders.
“Many women in Kentucky are dealing with
substance use and struggle to find appropriate care and treatment,” said Health
and Family Services Cabinet Secretary Vickie Yates Brown Glisson. “Not only is
this a tremendous women’s health issue, but many infants are suffering as well.
We launched KY-Moms as a way to reach more women to enable them to achieve
recovery as well as produce better outcomes for babies.”
KY-Moms is offered in 13
Community Mental Health Centers around the state. Formerly the KIDS NOW Plus
program, KY-Moms is designed to help women in need and address behavioral health
issues associated with substance use for them and their babies, such as anxiety,
depression, stress-related health issues and increasing positive birth outcomes.
Kentucky Department of Public
Health reports that between 2005 and 2014 4.6 percent of all Kentucky mothers
had inadequate prenatal care during their pregnancy. The National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence also reports that 3,295 women and their children between
July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014 sought shelter in Kentucky spouse abuse centers.
“These compounding risk factors
can result in lasting effects on the baby, the mother, and the family,” said Wendy
Morris, commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and
Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID), which administers KY-Moms. “With help from KY-Moms, mothers and their
families can become healthier and experience a more positive lifestyle.”
Through KY-Moms, Certified
Prevention Specialists and Pregnancy Case Managers provide service coordination
and positive supports for program participants.
The program connects mothers to
services prior to a child’s birth and 60-days post-birth. The program has
demonstrated success in improving program participants’ quality of life,
decreasing substance use risk factors, and increasing positive mental health
outcomes.
According to the six-month postnatal
follow-up survey of women in the program conducted by University of Kentucky
Center on Drug and Alcohol Research (CDAR), only 6 percent of mothers reported
any illegal drug use and only 13 percent reported any alcohol use. The survey also reported a 51 percent
decrease in any illegal drug use and a 35 percent decrease in alcohol use with
survey respondents.
For further information, contact
Katie Stratton, KY-Moms MATR Program Coordinator, Adult Substance Use Treatment
and Recovery Services Branch, Department of Behavioral Health,
Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, 275 E. Main Street, Frankfort, KY
40621, (502) 782-6192, Katie.Stratton@ky.gov.
Additional information is available at http://chfs.ky.gov/.
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The Cabinet for Health and Family Services is home to most of the state's human services and healthcare
programs, including the Department for Medicaid Services, the Department for Community Based Services
the Department for Public Health and the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual
Disabilities. CHFS is one of the largest agencies in state government, with nearly 8,000 full- and part-time
employees located across the Commonwealth focused on improving the lives and health of Kentuckians.
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