2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre

Program snapshot

Age group: Young adult (18-24); Adult (25-64)

Gender: Female only

Population served: Individuals suffering from FASD

Topic: Alcohol and/or drug use; Crime issues involving a mental health disorder or other health disorder

Setting: Urban area; Social services setting

Location: Alberta

Number of completed Canadian outcome evaluation studies: 0

Continuum of intervention: Tertiary crime prevention

Brief Description

The 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre, operated by the Lakeland Centre for FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), is a residential addiction treatment centre in Cold Lake for women who are pregnant or at-risk of becoming pregnant, and who are struggling with substance abuse or addiction. When accepted into the 2nd Floor Women’s Treatment Centre, women can stay up to 6 months.  While there, they receive addictions treatment, medical care, employment and skills training, and a variety of client specific interventions needed to ensure a safer pregnancy and better decision making in the future.  Women may come to the Centre from across the province and are supported post-treatment by referrals to service providers in their own communities.

Goals

The main goals of the 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre are to:

  • Support women to have healthy children;
  • Reduce the number of children born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder;
  • Teach women life skills to maintain sobriety;
  • Provide women with the ability to live life without substances;
  • Provide governments and funders with key information about how to best support these complex women; and
  • Reduce the involvement of the women in the legal system.

Clientele

The appropriate clientele for the 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre are women (age 15+) who are pregnant or at-risk of becoming pregnant, and who are struggling with substance abuse or addiction. Women who attend the 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre are better able to manage their addictions and are given ongoing support to reduce the incidence of homelessness, FASD births, and will rely less on emergency and long-term addiction and health care services.

Core Components

The 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre is a unique residential alcohol/drug treatment program for women, specializing in women who are pregnant. The program is structured as follows:

  • Clients are referred to the Centre from across the province but they have to be detoxed before arrival;
  • Women stay in the program for up to six months receiving addictions treatment, medical care, employment and skills training, and a variety of client specific interventions needed to ensure a safer pregnancy and better decision making in the future;
  • The program is guided by four elements which correspond to some aboriginal teachings. These are: Belonging, Mastery, Independence, and Generosity; and
  • Upon completion of the program, clients receive post-treatment support by referrals to service providers in their own communities.

Implementation Information

Some of the critical elements for the implementation of this program or initiative include the following:

  • Organizational requirements: The Centre provides client-based services and operates a paradigm of treatment for female clients, based on the use of female staff, less confrontational approaches, recognition of the role of trauma in causing and perpetuating substance abuse, and recognition of the importance of relatedness and the interpersonal context.
  • Partnerships: Limited information on this topic.
  • Training and technical assistance: Limited information on this topic.
  • Risk assessment tools: Limited information on this topic.
  • Materials & resources: Limited information on this topic.

International Endorsements

The most recognized classification systems of evidence-based crime prevention programs have classified this program or initiative as follows:

  • Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development: Not applicable.
  • Crime Solutions/OJJDP Model Program Guide: Not applicable.
  • SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices: Not applicable.
  • Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy: Not applicable.

Gathering Canadian Knowledge

Canadian Implementation Sites

The “2nd Floor” name came from the fact that it is located on the second floor of the main offices of the Lakeland Centre for FASD (LCFASD) in Cold Lake, Alberta and is part of their full spectrum of services for individuals potentially affected by FASD. The average age for clients was 25 years old. The Lakeland Centre for FASD treated 39 women: 19 moved to safer housing post-treatment; five completed the terms of outstanding legal issues; and six were able to avoid incarceration.

The Lakeland Centre for FASD received funding from 2011 to 2014 from the Safe Communities Innovation Fund (SCIF), Government of Alberta.

Main Findings from Canadian Outcome Evaluation Studies

No information available.

Cost Information

A social return on investment (SROI) has been conducted on the 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre. The findings from this study have shown the following:

  • The ratio for the 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre is 2.24:1, which shows that for every dollar invested in the program, an average of $2.24 in social value was created; and
  • This value is realized by a reduction in the cost of homelessness, life-long care of children born with FASD, justice system involvement, undiagnosed and untreated chronic disease, and pregnancy and birth complications.

References

Alberta Community Crime Prevention Organizations. (2015). Social Return on Investment (SROI) Case Study: 2nd Floor Women’s Recovery Centre. Recipient of Safe Communities Innovation Fund, Government of Alberta. Available from: https://open.alberta.ca/publications/safe-communities-innovation-fund-pilot-project-executive-summaries

For more information on this program, contact:

Lakeland Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Society
Audrey McFarlane
Phone: (780) 594-9905
Email: mailto://AMcFarlane@lcfasd.com


Record Entry Date - 2018-02-19
Record Updated On - 2021-04-29
Date modified: