The Wyoming Plans of Safe Care initiative is a statewide effort to promote a multidisciplinary approach to supporting pregnant women who experience substance use and their babies. The ultimate goal is ensuring families have the support needed to ensure a greater likelihood of family stability and reduce separation of mother and baby.
What is a Plan of Safe Care (PoSC)?
A PoSC is a document that lists and directs referrals for services and supports to provide for the safety and well-being of an infant prenatally substance exposed. Coordinated services to the family ensures timely access to a continuum of care, minimizes barriers to accessing care, improves infant and maternal outcomes, and facilitates identification of the family’s overall needs and engagement into the appropriate services.
Plans of Safe Care will vary depending on the circumstances. A Plan of Safe Care is meant to be a community safety net for families impacted by prenatal substance use. Typically, a Plans of Safe Care includes the following elements:
- Basic needs (safe housing, medical care, mental health treatment needs, etc.).
- Physical health (prenatal/postpartum care, support with breastfeeding, medication, and pain management).
- Delivery and discharge plans (including birthing location, supports, information sharing with hospital staff and other service providers, safe sleeping environment, etc.).
- Behavioral health (engagement, treatment, recovery supports and retention; treatment for partner/other family members,etc.).
- Infant health and development (high-risk follow-up care/referral to specialty care; developmental screening and early intervention services; early care and education programs, etc.).
- Parenting/family support (coordinated case management; home visiting; housing, employment support, child care and transportation, etc.).
Who is involved in developing a Wyoming Plan of Safe Care?
Wyoming Patient Care Teams are charged with developing a Plan of Safe Care with families in order to provide comprehensive care coordination through collaboration and consultation with medical and substance use professionals, family support specialists, and community services.
The PoSC is developed with the input of a multidisciplinary-team before the mother and baby are discharged from the hospital. According to best practices, the PoSC should be started prenatally and serve as a living document throughout the pregnancy and after birth. If that is not possible, the PoSC must be developed after birth and completed before the mother’s discharge. This team may include:
- Medical staff
- Treatment providers
- Mental health experts
- Peer Specialists
- Early childhood staff