Delaware’s first in-patient substance use treatment facility for pregnant and parenting women will open this summer, serving up to 20 women struggling with the disorder.
The residential treatment facility, the first of its kind for Delaware, will be operated by Gaudenzia, Inc. in Claymont. The nonprofit currently provides a supportive recovery home for pregnant women and their children, but it is a lower level of care compared to a residential treatment facility.
Gaudenzia offers those services in other states and the latest partnership struck with the state’s Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health will now bring the much-needed service to Delaware. The organization hopes to open its doors to the higher intensity service July 1, with the step-down services expected to be available in the fall.
“This is a historical day for Delaware, Gaudenzia and for a population that desperately needs treatment services,” Gaudenzia CEO Dr. Dale Klatzker said in a news release. “Research shows that family-centered treatment for pregnant and parenting women is a smart investment with both immediate and long-term economic and social benefits.”
The $3.2 million contract, funded through federal dollars, comes on the heels of the Division of Forensic Science’s annual report, which revealed overdose deaths increased more than 15% in 2021 to 515 in Delaware, continuing a deadly trend seen across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Overdose deaths increased 5.4% in 2020 in the First State, with 447 deaths statewide – up from 431 in 2019.
Females accounted for 32% of overdose deaths last year, according to the report. Those aged 31-40 accounted for the highest number of deaths at 144 followed by those aged 41 to 50. Most of the overdose deaths occurred in New Castle County.
Seventy percent of women with substance use disorder also have children but may avoid treatment because of a lack of childcare or fear of losing custody of their children, Gaudenzia statistics show. As a result, Delaware has the nation’s fifth-highest rate of pregnant women with substance use disorder.
There was a 148% increase in substance-exposed infant births to Delaware women between 2015 and 2019, further highlighting the need for enhanced services.
The proposed treatment facility, which will utilize existing space Gaudenzia has in Claymont, will have one floor providing high-intensity, clinically managed residential treatment for 10 women and another floor for lower-intensity services for 10 women.
Both options will include on-site medical and psychiatric services, case management, on-site childcare, meals, room and board. There will also be 24-hour supervision and access to medical, clinical, childcare and support staff.
Women can receive this treatment while up to two children each are living with them at the facility.
Joanna Champney, director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, said Delaware didn’t want pregnant and parenting people to have the make the choice of going out of state for services or foregoing them altogether.
“We hope that by having services in the state, patients will no longer have to leave the state’s lines to access these services. It was a critical system gap that we identified,” Champney said. “There was sober living for pregnant and parenting women, but true inpatient substance use treatment patients would have to leave the state.”
Bringing treatment to Delaware
Gaudenzia began talks of opening a residential treatment facility in Delaware last year amid the exit of Connections Community Support Programs, which was one of the state’s largest providers of mental health and substance use treatment.
While Connections settled federal fraud allegations and was bought by Pennsylvania-based Inperium Inc. after filing for bankruptcy, the nonprofit’s downfall resulted in recovery home closures that only compounded the lack of services for pregnant and parenting women struggling with addiction in Delaware.
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Gaudenzia wanted to change that. The nonprofit already offered a supportive recovery home, called Safe Haven, for up to 10 women and their children in Claymont, but it lacked the higher level of care a residential treatment facility would provide.
Gaudenzia opened its first facility for pregnant and parenting women in 1979 in Lancaster, Pa. It currently operates 14 centers for women with children across Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.
Gail Hannah, executive director for Gaudenzia Eastern Region, said one of the key differences with a residential treatment facility will be services for the whole family.
“The children will also receive services. We’ll be addressing the needs of the entire family,” Hannah said. “Even if there are children who are not able to come to treatment with the mother, we would incorporate them in services.”
Champney said the state will be monitoring the utilization of Gaudenzia’s program and could expand accordingly. In the meantime, other providers have stepped up to the plate to expand sober living options as well, she said.
While some people may need inpatient care to treat substance use disorder, others may not need that high-intensity care. Meanwhile, those who use inpatient care eventually step down to a sober living environment, often staying longer in that setting, which increases the demand for those services as well, Champney said.
“Adding Gaudenzia programming fleshes out the different levels of care and meets the diverse population’s needs,” she said. “There is a whole continuum of care for treatment.”
Where to treatment
Delaware Hope Line: 833-9-HOPEDE for free 24/7 counseling, coaching, and support, as well as links to mental health, addiction, and crisis services. Resources can also be found on the Help is Here website.
Gaudenzia: Call the nonprofit directly at 833-976-4357 or visit its website for more information on access treatment.
Bridge Clinics: Learn more about treatment services at any of the four clinics, two of which are located in New Castle County and one each in Kent and Sussex counties.
Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com, or call 302-598-5507. Follow her on Twitter at @mandy_fries.
