A broad coalition of public and private agencies in Oklahoma will implement the Parent-Child Assistance Program (PCAP) to help pregnant and parenting mothers struggling with addiction.

(PCAP) is an award-winning, evidence-informed home visitation case‐management model for pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders. The model was developed by Therese Grant, PhD, as part of the Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit, now housed in the Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI). PCAP goals are to help mothers build healthy families and prevent future births of children exposed prenatally to alcohol and drugs. Susan Stoner, PhD, is the current Washington State PCAP Director.

“We are delighted to partner with our colleagues in Oklahoma to bring PCAP to the state,” said Dr. Stoner. “We expect that PCAP in Oklahoma will demonstrate strong, positive outcomes for mothers in the program, as it has in Washington. In addition, this project will provide the kind of data that we need to be recognized on a federal level, opening the door for PCAP to benefit mothers and families across the nation.”

The model will be tested in Oklahoma, with evaluators measuring possible cost savings stemming from reductions in reducing incarceration, substance use disorders, foster care and future substance-exposed newborns. ADAI will support the implementation of PCAP in Oklahoma, and the University of Oklahoma will lead the evaluation and the overall project.

Supporting the effort is a consortium of public and private funders, including the Arnall Community Fund—which is providing a major gift to the OU Foundation to launch this project—along with Casey Family Programs, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.