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Needs assessment finds recovery housing, childcare and peer-support gaps for pregnant and postpartum people
Summary
VCU researchers presented findings from a Central Virginia needs assessment and statewide survey work showing limited recovery housing for women with children, childcare barriers to treatment attendance, and shortages of funded, certified peer recovery specialists.
Dr. Marshall Brooks, assistant professor in VCU’s Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, presented results from a Central Virginia needs assessment and a related statewide survey during the OAA Abatement Academy webinar. Brooks said the team interviewed 35 stakeholders and received 89 survey responses across four localities as part of work to inform the toolkit’s maternal-substance-use guidance.
"Recovery housing is unavailable or largely inaccessible to women with children," Brooks said, summarizing a consistent theme from interviews: existing recovery housing is often designed for single adults, waitlists are long, and available rapid-rehousing programs frequently lack wraparound services needed by mothers with children.
The assessment highlighted three primary needs: more family-friendly recovery housing with wraparound supports (on-site childcare, transportation assistance and onsite mental-health services); more flexible and affordable childcare options that cover off-hours and weekend work schedules; and stronger, better-funded peer-recovery programs. Brooks said peer specialists offer vital lived-experience connections, but turnover and limited funding reduce continuity and reach.
Brooks described recommendations emerging from the interviews: design recovery housing with larger family living spaces and wraparound supports; embed or contract for on-site childcare at treatment programs; set higher housing-quality standards and local oversight; and expand peer certification and stable funding to integrate peers across the care continuum, including home visiting and prenatal/postpartum services.
The team reported specific local program metrics in the webinar slides: in Accomack County, expanded CSB services improved mental-health care for about 50 incarcerated individuals; in Culpeper, programs have distributed more than 2,000 harm-reduction kits; and Louisa County’s expansion connected over 130 people to mental-health services. Brooks also said the statewide survey (28 questions, about 25 minutes) will inform toolkit refinements and invited attendees to take the survey via a chat link.
The presenters and OAA staff emphasized that the needs-assessment findings are intended to inform practical toolkit guidance—how to structure family-friendly recovery housing, where to site childcare or vending machines for supplies, and how localities can document outcomes when applying for OAA funds. No formal policy decisions or votes were taken in the webinar; presenters asked for community nominations of successful programs and signaled further qualitative work.
