Children and Recovering Mothers Team (CHARM)
About CHARM
The Children and Recovering Mothers (CHARM) Team is a multidisciplinary Vermont collaboration focused on improving coordination and support for pregnant and postpartum people with substance use disorders and their infants. CHARM has been modeled and replicated nationally in multiple communities.
The need – one example: A single woman has learned that she is pregnant. She is overjoyed but also worried – she has a history of substance use. She’s tried treatment before. This time, she is much more motivated to stay with treatment, but can she? KidSafe brings together a team that will support her health progress and track her attendance at prenatal care and substance use counseling. Any obstacles to her attendance, like a lack of transportation. will be identified and addressed.
“The CHARM Team was built on the belief that families are best served when systems work together. Having participated in the CHARM Team for many years, I have seen firsthand the difference that collaboration can make for families. This recognition reflects the commitment of partners across Vermont who have dedicated their time, expertise, and compassion to supporting parents, infants, and caregivers.” - Meghan Masterson, Executive Director of KidSafe Collaborative
A CHARM Meeting:
- Brings together professionals from healthcare, substance use treatment, child welfare, peer recovery, home visiting, early childhood services, public health, and community organizations
- Meets monthly to identify barriers, connect families to services, coordinate care, and strengthen support during pregnancy and the postpartum period
- Encourages individuals to stay with their substance use treatment, get good prenatal care, and in the end, be able to safely mother their newborns
Research suggests that pregnant and postpartum people participating in CHARM began opioid use disorder treatment earlier in pregnancy, and fewer infants required medication for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Coordinated, multidisciplinary care models such as CHARM can strengthen engagement and continuity of care during the postpartum period.
CHARM in the News
KidSafe Collaborative is honored to be included in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) newly released publication, Healthy Starts: Postpartum OUD Care Transitions for Mother and Infant.
