State Policy Levers for Expanding Family-Centered Medication-Assisted Treatment

Many women facing opioid addiction are either pregnant or caring for children and face a number of social, structural and economic barrier in accessing treatment. In recent years, clinicians and policymakers have become increasingly interested in supporting substance use treatment approaches that provide comprehensive services to pregnant and parenting women and their family members and recognized the women’s role as primary caregivers. Since MAT is the recommended clinical practice for treating pregnant women and adults with OUD, we sought to define how MAT can be combined with family-centered services. This study further examined a selection of state and local treatment programs targeted to pregnant and parenting women and their families to identify key challenges and opportunities in expanding access to comprehensive, family-centered services and MAT treatment for this population.