The Haven - Adult Female Treatment Services
"Putting Lives Back on Track and Keeping Families Together"
For more information on The Haven and our programs, please visit our website: http://www.havenfriends.org
Director of Haven Programs and ARTS Development:
Julie Krow, M.A., L.P.C.
julie.krow@uchsc.edu or
(303)761-7626
Intake-Admissions Department Contact:
Sheila Graves or Karen Chappelow (303) 866-7252
The Haven is an 89-bed Modified Therapeutic Community (MTC) for women, mothers and their infants. Licensed by the Colorado Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD),
the program offers long-term, intensive treatment for clients with addictions. Clients are referred from the criminal justice system, a direct judicial sentence, or from a variety
of non-criminal justice agencies.
Founded in 1992, The Haven was the first program in Colorado to accept infants into residence while their mothers received substance abuse treatment – keeping children out
of the foster care system. Today, The Haven has five facilities located on the Ft. Logan campus and can serve up to 38 pregnant or post-partum women and their infants.
Haven clients typically stay nine to 12 months in residential treatment, followed by an additional 12 months of outpatient MTC treatment services. Long-term outcomes are
very positive. In fact, 90.1 percent of mothers who enter The Haven remain drug-, alcohol-, and crime-free two years after completion.
Program staff is comprised of licensed professionals and certified addictions counselors from a variety of professional fields; many are themselves in recovery from substance addiction. Medicaid is accepted for women (if eligible) who enter the program while pregnant.
Services Offered:
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Treatment and Therapy
• Extensive assessment and treatment planning
• Behavioral therapy
• Group therapy
• Family therapy
• Integrated treatment for co-occuring
mental disorders
• Opioid replacement therapy
• Relapse prevention
• Case management
• Drug testing/medication monitoringMedical Services
• Medical evaluation
• Psychiatric evaluation
• Prenatal care and vitamins
• AIDS/HIV screening and counseling
• Free dental care
• Medication therapy, including AntabuseInfant Services
• Infant mental health services
• Infant development evaluation and testing
• Doula services
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Vocational and Educational Services
• Vocational counseling and job placement
• Culinary arts program
• GED classes
• Scholarships to Emily Griffith
Opportunity SchoolMiscellaneous Services
• Financial assistance for medications
• Financial counseling
• Transition to outpatient therapeutic
community and supportive apartment living
• Breastfeeding support
• Parenting classes
• Mom and baby music classes
• Day treatment (designed for clients re-gaining
custody of older children)
• Gender-specific, trauma informed, culturally
sensitive treatment
What is a Modified Therapeutic Community?
The primary goal of a Modified Therapeutic Community (MTC) is to foster individual change and positive growth. This is accomplished by changing an individual’s lifestyle
through a community of concerned people working together to help themselves and each other. Clients in a MTC are members, as in any family setting; not patients, as in an institution. These members play a significant role in managing the MTC and acting as positive role models for others to emulate. High expectations and high commitment from both MTC members and staff support this positive change. Insight into one’s problems is gained through group and individual interaction, but learning through experience, failing and succeeding, and experiencing the consequences, is considered to be the most potent influence toward achieving lasting change.
Program Structure
The Haven’s MTC is a highly structured, scientifically supported treatment model that encompasses progressive phases. They include:
Orientation (Approximately 30 days)
• Assessment
• Treatment planning
• Motivational counseling
• Program philosophy
Phase I (Approximately three months)
• Develop and strengthen problem-solving skills
• Identify and address behavioral problems
• Acquire pro-social attitudes and values
Phase II (Approximately three months)
• Address issues related to substance abuse, including trauma and gender-specific concerns
• Reconnect with family members and participation in family groups
• Identify community support groups
Transitional (Approximately three to six months)
• Emphasis on re-socialization
• Increase contact with community [employment, school, support and leisure activities]
• Re-socialization skills training
• Money management
• Employment placement and monitoring
Facilities
The Haven
The Haven serves 39 adult women for a period of nine months to one year. Safety, empowerment, structure and support are key to the environment and each individual
client. The women are on a schedule each day and participate in some sort of planned group-activity from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Services and treatment activities address
recovery using cognitive/behavioral techniques, Stages of Change, Contingency Management, and Community Reinforcement, and are integrated to address mental health and trauma issues. Treatment activities include individual and group education and counseling, peer run activities-groups-meetings, vocational skills, GED preparation classes, on- and off-site 12-step meetings, parenting issues, etc. The program utilizes an on-site psychiatrist and medication management for those needing these services. Case Management services are also part of the treatment and the women are linked to services for healthcare, dental care, benefits acquisitions, transportation, eye care, employment and vocational services in addition to other needed services provided by community agencies.
The Haven Mothers' Houses I and II
The Haven Mothers' Houses I and II provide intensive residential substance abuse treatment to 26 women. Women who receive services through The Mother’s House must either be pregnant or have an infant in their care. The Mother’s House provides a stable, safe, and drug-free environment to allow women to overcome the behaviors that led them to a lifestyle of addiction and crime. Clients are given an opportunity to learn different ways to cope with their feelings and are taught how to make appropriate choices. Many women do not seek treatment due to the fact that they are fearful of what will happen to their children. The Mother’s House operates with the philosophy that it is critical that a mother be with her infant as she progresses through treatment. The Haven
children are the heart of the program and allow the mother to experience love, care and parenting in a substance-free environment.
Women are taught lifestyle skills and are expected to manage their environment. A
typical day at The Mother’s House begins at 6:50 a.m. Clients eat breakfast with their children and then take the children to an on-site specialized day care. Then, they
attend substance abuse groups and learn cognitive therapy skills. Clients then
go to the daycare to eat lunch with their children. Their afternoons are again
spent focusing on overcoming their addiction. From 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., clients spend time bonding and attaching with their infants. From 8:30 to 10 p.m., clients attend one final group and then it is off to bed. Clients meet with a counselor once a week to discuss their treatment goals and are provided with mental health treatment if necessary.
The Harmon House
In the final phase of treatment, clients from The Haven and The Mother’s House I and II come together to reside at The Harmon House. The Harmon House accomodates 26
women and up to 10 infants who have progressed in their treatment regimen. Clients in this house are employed in the community, have found community child care and are
increasing their community support system. Upon returning from work, clients attend evening groups that focus on maintaining their recovery.
The Baby Haven
The Baby Haven provides specialized daycare for infants whose mothers are in residential substance abuse treatment at The Haven. The staff supports mothers in treatment by enhancing the children’s physical, emotional and cognitive growth. In order to allow mothers to attend treatment groups, the daycare is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and provides care for up to 15 infants. The daycare is unique, in that mothers come
to the daycare to feed their children lunch and are allowed to bond and interact with their children. During this time, mothers receive nutritional guidance from staff and
are able to meet individually with staff to address their children’s issues and receive parental guidance. In addition, mothers participate in a weekly parenting education group and a parent/child interaction group. These groups are facilitated by an infant mental health team that consist of a licensed psychologist and a post-doctoral fellow. Each child is provided with developmental assessments at six-month
intervals. The daycare staff assists each child in meeting and exceeding their developmental milestones.
Special Programs
The Haven Doula Program
The Haven Doula Program is the first of its kind and is recognized nationally as an official Doula replication site of the Chicago Health Connection (CHC). The Doula
Program pairs pregnant women from The Haven Mother’s House with successful Haven graduates who have given birth and are in recovery. A doula’s relationship with the mother begins as soon as the trained doula is matched with the mother and continues until the child is 18 months old. The doula begins regular contact with the pregnant woman by accompanying her to prenatal care visits and helping develop a birth plan. The doulas also provide a series of sessions focused on education about labor and delivery. The doula’s goals are to develop a trusting relationship with the mother, to help her advocate for herself in the health care system, to prepare for the hospital labor and delivery experience, and ultimately to prepare for her new role as a parent. When labor begins, the doula is available to the mother, helping her determine if she is actually in labor, and supporting her through labor, delivery and the initial postpartum hours at the hospital. In the immediate postpartum period, the doula reviews the events of labor
and delivery, reassures the new mother about her child’s condition, provides breastfeeding support, and facilitates bonding and infant care. During the later postpartum months, the doula continues to visit the mother on a regular basis. She helps provide support and ideas for appropriate developmental play, assists with transportation to medical appointments, links the client to outside resources, and provides recovery support.
Denver Women’s Correctional Facility Therapeutic Community
The Haven operates “Challenge to Change,” a 72-bed MTC located behind the prison walls at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. This program is specifically
designed to address the issues of female offenders related to substance abuse, mental health and criminal behavior. Other issues addressed include relationships, family, and parenting.