CARA Case Study

The Nevada Public Health Foundation (NPHF) was awarded a contract through the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to provide Community Building for DCSF Rural Region. On January 25, 2021, NPHF committed to working with various partners in the 15 rural counties of Nevada to help educate and create Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) plans of care (PoC) for mothers giving birth to drug-exposed babies. Since the commencement of this contract, NPHF has been involved in multiple CARA workgroups with the goal of identifying resources available to Nevadan’s rural communities.  NPHF intends to educate hospitals and CARA stakeholders on the resources available across Nevada. NPHF also committed to meeting with rural birthing hospitals to ensure infants requiring CARA Plans of Care are identified.

Once the mother and infant are identified as substance dependent, each birthing hospital will have a plan of action depicted in a flow chart created by NPHF. Before the infant and mother are discharged, it is a requirement of the hospital staff to offer a Plan of Care which includes referrals to community resources to ensure the health and well being of mother and child. At the completion of the contract, NPHF will have created a CARA PoC Flow Chart for each rural birthing hospital as well as educated DCFS rural social workers and helped to educate birthing hospitals on their role in the CARA project.