Helping you help pregnant women and their families: The new ATTC CoE-PPW

January 5, 2016

ATTC Center of Excellence on Behavioral Health for Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Their Families: Working to Strengthen the Behavioral Healthcare Workforce's Ability to Serve Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Sarah Knopf-Amelung, MA-R
Research Associate, Special Projects
Mid-America ATTC

It’s hard to read the news without coming across an article relating to pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) and substance use. Whether it is states’ efforts to criminalize substance use during pregnancy or innovative treatment programs transforming the lives of pregnant women and their families, this topic is at the forefront of national media, as it should be. Perhaps one of the most discriminated groups of people who use substances, pregnant and postpartum women face extensive barriers to treatment and recovery. And yet, their success in accessing such services and achieving recovery has far-reaching implications for not only their personal well-being but that of their families and our communities as well.

ATTC CoE-PPW: A resource for behavioral health workforce serving pregnant and parenting women

The Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Center of Excellence on Behavioral Health for Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Their Families (ATTC CoE-PPW) was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in October 2015 to strengthen the ability of the behavioral healthcare workforce to serve the PPW population. Mid-America ATTC has formed a partnership with Great Lakes, New England, and Southeast Regional ATTCs to lead this two-year national effort.

Goals

The ATTC CoE-PPW is implementing a comprehensive, multi-systemic approach to develop the behavioral healthcare workforce. Major goals include:

• Developing Tools for Treatment, an interactive web-based toolkit/virtual clearinghouse to house PPW resources, anticipated to launch in late spring 2016: 
• Conducting an environmental scan and critical review of existing PPW curricula/training resources; 
• Developing curricula and conducting training nationally for clinicians, administrators, and front office staff; 
• Engaging a Virtual Stakeholder Panel composed of women with lived experience; 
• Hosting a Webinette Series (just 30 minutes each) on emerging PPW topics; and
• Developing and implementing a dissemination and sustainability plan

12-member Subject Matter Expert Panel 

Much of the ATTC CoE-PPW’s work will be driven by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) Panel. The 12-member panel includes a diverse range of national experts, including women’s treatment program CEOs, women’s health medical professionals (OBGYN, clinical psychiatrist, women’s health nurse practitioners), and policy experts, just to name a few.

30-minute Webinette Series kicks off on January 12, 2016

Subject Matter Expert Dr. Georgiana Wilton, Ph.D. leads several research projects on preventing, identifying, and treating FASD at the UW-Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. She'll launch the ATTC PPW CoE Webinette series with:

Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): Implications for Women’s Treatment

January 12, 2016

12-12:30 ET / 11-11:30 CT / 10-10:30 MT / 9-9:30 PT

Register for the free Webinette today!

For more information on the Webinette series and the ATTC CoE-PPW in general, contact 
Project Director Pat Stilen at stilenp@umkc.edu