This three-year project responds to an identified need to expand residential substance abuse treatment services for pregnant and postpartum Latina women in Boston. The Post-Partum Women and Infants Study (PPWI) is implementing and evaluating a family-centered treatment approach in a sample of 120 families. The intervention includes substance abuse treatment, prenatal/postpartum education and parenting education, and trauma treatment. The program is implemented in collaboration with the Boston Public Health Commission’s Bureau of Addictions Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Support Services and services are provided at the Entre Familia Residential Treatment Program.
The program evaluation, conducted by the IUHR, assesses family engagement; maternal substance use, HIV risk behaviors, mental health and trauma symptom improvement, and parenting; as well as selected child outcomes. Through knowledge gained in the program’s implementation and evaluation, the project will yield information that can be used in the field to improve services for pregnant and post-partum Latinas with addiction disorders.