Gov. Beshear Announces Funding to Increase Substance Abuse Treatment for Pregnant Women

Funds will expand opioid treatment for pregnant women in Bluegrass, Cumberland regions; curb rise in drug-addicted newborns

FRANKFORT, KY – Governor Steve Beshear announced today that Kentucky will receive up to $3 million in federal grants over three years to provide expanded substance abuse treatment for opiate-dependent pregnant and postpartum women from the Bluegrass and Cumberland regions of the state.

“State leaders must do everything we can do to stop the pain drug abuse is having on Kentuckians and their families every single day, especially when it impacts mothers and their babies,” Gov. Beshear said. “Pregnant women who use heroin or other opiates during pregnancy have a significant risk of adverse outcomes for themselves and their babies. This important pilot project will allow us to improve access to treatment and support for pregnant women in two of the areas of our state hardest hit by substance abuse issues.”

Kentucky is one of 11 states selected by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive this new grant funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of an initiative to increase access to substance use disorder treatment services.

Kentucky’s Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) will receive up to $3 million over three years from the grant, which it will use to build upon and expand current efforts to provide access to individualized, evidence-based substance use disorder treatment for these pregnant women, including medication-assisted therapies.

With the grant, officials hope to reduce the number of Kentucky newborns who experience neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) or neonatal opiate withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) by identifying opiate-addicted pregnant women and engaging them in treatment prior to delivery.

Kentucky hospitalizations for drug-dependent newborns soared in the last year, from 955 in 2013 to 1,409 in 2014, according to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy.

The grant will also Continue reading →