Carol Jones center receiving $1.2 million in grants

The Carol Jones Recovery Center for Women has received a three-year federal grant to provide funding for its services.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is giving $1.2 million over three years to Springfield-based Alternative Opportunities Inc., the parent company for the Carol Jones center. The grant will fund support and treatment efforts for new mothers to overcome alcohol and drug dependency issues during pregnancy and after delivery, specifically through the Community Works: Keeping Families Safe, Healthy and Together project.

The grant is designed to decrease use and abuse of drugs, alcohol and tobacco among pregnant and postpartum women; improve birth outcomes' and improve mental and physical health of women and their children as well as family stability.

"Faced with barriers to basic resources, these women and their children are at greater risk of experiencing serious physical and mental health problems, abusing their children, being victimized by domestic violence and securing and maintaining societal supports for their basic survival," Clinical Services Director Keith Noble said in a news release. "Similarly, fathers of the children, partners of the women, and other extended family members of the women and children in treatment may face equally difficult challenges, preventing the family from being safe, healthy and together."

The center helps more than 100 women and their families annually.