MOMS Partnership®
Since 2011, the MOMS Partnership has developed,adapted and tested interventions geared to support mothers on their journey to well-being and economic mobility.
Currently, Elevate is focused on replicating and evaluating the MOMS Stress Management CourseSM. The MOMS Stress Management Course is an evidence-based program that is grounded in principles and techniques of cognitive behavior therapy —a well-established, highly effective treatment for depression and anxiety, and other mental health concerns. The overarching goal of the course is to help participants acquire skills for mood management—skills that have been shown to decrease stress, depression, and anxiety.
Other initiatives include:
- The Parenting D.A.N.C.E. is a strengths-based video-coaching model to develop parenting skills. During the program, participants receive video feedback that highlights positive examples of key parenting skills. Participants learn ways to strengthen their relationship with their child and parenting skills for managing children’s (and their own) emotions better.
- Personal Skills for Work Success applies a CBT model to workplace situations. Participants work through examples to understand how cognitive distortions influence job-related outcomes to strengthen their ability to succeed in a job.
- Coaching offers one-on-one strengths-based, family-centered support to participants. Goal setting is the centerpiece of coaching, as participants identify goals that are meaningful and achievable which are then broken into doable, measurable actions, around which participants and coaches meet to ensure steady progress.
To learn more about the Parenting D.A.N.C.E., Personal Skills for Work Success, and/or Coaching interventions, please contact the Elevate team at elevate@yale.edu.
A core intervention of the MOMS Partnership Model is the MOMS Stress Management CourseSM. MOMS Stress Management is an evidence-based course that is grounded in principles and techniques of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). CBT is a well-established and highly effective treatment for depression and anxiety, and other mental health concerns.
The MOMS Stress Management Course includes eight classes (90 minutes each), that are delivered to small groups of participants, either in person or virtually (through a live-online, video platform). Classes are typically co-delivered by a mental health professional (MOMS Partnership Clinician) and a community health worker (MOMS Partnership Community Mental Health Ambassador or CMHA) Classes are designed for adult learners: material is accessible, and discussion, exercises, and skills practice are interwoven with didactic content. The overarching goal of the course is to help participants acquire skills for mood management—skills that have been shown to decrease stress, depression and anxiety, and other mental health-related symptoms. Throughout the eight sessions, participants learn:
- Skills to recognize their mood; and
- Skills to change their mood through intentionally changing thoughts and behaviors
MOMS Stress Management is a manualized course that was originally adapted from the Mothers and Babies course by Muñoz and Le (2011) for the population of (English-speaking, New Haven) mothers served by the MOMS Partnership in its foundational years. Since then, the MOMS Stress Management Course has undergone multiple refinements, and new cultural-linguistic adaptations have been produced in Spanish and Chinese.
Working with government and community partners in multiple states who share a deep commitment to maternal mental health, economic mobility, and two-generational approaches and outcomes, Elevate has collaborated with local teams to build impactful MOMS Partnership programming.
DC MOMS Partnership
In 2018, the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) introduced a new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy as part of the agency’s emphasis on a two-generational approach to family and child wellbeing.
In the same year, Elevate partnered with the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) to evaluate the impact of this policy and generate a series of recommendations. Read the Embracing 2-Gen: Findings from the District of Columbia’s TANF Survey report here.
To help support mental health and wellbeing among DC families, Elevate and DHS collaborated to bring the MOMS Partnership Model to the district. The DC MOMS Partnership℠ was the first team to launch MOMS Partnership programming outside of New Haven and women in the District have been able to participate in MOMS Partnership services since April 2019. DC MOMS offered the MOMS Stress Management Course to mothers and women raising children living in Wards 7 and 8.
To assess the impact of DC MOMS, Elevate designed and carried out an evaluation of the DC MOMS pilot study conducted between February 2019 and February 2021.
VT MOMS Partnership
In 2019 Elevate partnered with Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) to administer the Vermont MOMS Goals and Needs Assessment. Participants included mothers who were receiving benefits through Reach Up (Vermont’s TANF program), Reach Ahead, Reach First, or the Post-Secondary Education Program. Read the Findings from Six MOMS Partnership® Goals & Needs Assessments here.
Elevate then partnered with the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) to establish the Vermont MOMS PartnershipSM through Vermont Reach Up—the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program bringing the Mental Health Outreach for MotherS (MOMS) Partnership® model, which includes the MOMS Stress Management Course, to mothers/caregivers living in Burlington and surrounding counties. Partners from the Howard Center joined the Vermont MOMS Partnership and provide the MOMS Stress Management Course.
Elevate worked with Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) to design and carry out an evaluation, which took place between March 2020 and November 2022.
Read the Vermont MOMS℠ Evaluation Report Executive Summary.
Vermont MOMS is supported by the Vermont Department for Children and Families - Economic Services Division.
KY MOMS Partnership
In 2019, Elevate partnered with agencies and organizations in the Greater Louisville, KY area to launch the Kentucky MOMS Goals and Needs Assessment. The Kentucky MOMS Partnership GNA was completed specifically by justice-involved mothers and women raising children— those currently incarcerated or under community supervision, including parole or probation. Read the Findings from Six MOMS Partnership® Goals & Needs Assessments here.
Elevate then partnered with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, and the Kentucky Center for Statistics to establish the Kentucky MOMS PartnershipSM, bringing the MOMS Partnership Model and MOMS Stress Management Course to justice-involved mothers and women raising children in the Louisville area.
NYC MOMS Partnership
The New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) partnered with Elevate Policy Lab to establish NYC DHS MOMS℠ (NYC DHS MOMS), bringing the MOMS Partnership Model, which includes the MOMS Stress Management Course to Tier 2 shelters for families with children.
Elevate worked with DHS and BronxWorks, a family shelter provider in New York City, to design and carry out an evaluation of the pilot, which took place between August 2021 and November 2022.
Read the NYC DHS MOMS℠ Evaluation Report Executive Summary.
Read the full report.
NYC DHS MOMS is supported by the NYC Department of Homeless Services and by the Robin Hood Foundation.
Western Massachusetts MOMS Partnership
The Office of Planning Research and Evaluation funded a series of studies designed to further build evidence around effective strategies for helping low- income individuals find and sustain employment. Mathematica, a research and data analytics consultancy, led the Next Generation of Enhanced Employment Strategies (NextGen) Project, which aimed to identify and test innovative, promising employment interventions that are designed to help individuals facing complex challenges secure a pathway toward economic independence.
The MOMS Partnership Model was selected as one such promising intervention and is being implemented in Massachusetts. Elevate partnered with Mathematica, the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance and Viability to provide training and technical assistance on the MOMS Partnership Model and MOMS Stress Management Course. The study was launched in Spring 2022 and enrolled more than 850 mothers; half that number was randomized to receive the MOMS Stress Management Course. This study recently completed recruitment and service delivery phases. A report of findings is anticipated in Fall 2025.
The NextGen Study was funded by the Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.
Bridgeport MOMS Partnership
In 2019, Elevate partnered with agencies and organizations in the City of Bridgeport to launch the Bridgeport MOMS Goals and Needs Assessment (GNA). Read the Findings from Six MOMS Partnership® Goals & Needs Assessments here.
To expand local offerings available to address maternal mental health and well-being in Bridgeport, Elevate collaborated with the Greater Bridgeport Area Prevention Program (GBAPP), the Alliance for Community Empowerment (Alliance), and Southwest Community Health Centers (Southwest CHC) to establish the Bridgeport MOMS PartnershipSM.
Bridgeport MOMS brings the MOMS Partnership Model, which includes the MOMS Stress Management Course, to mothers and women who are raising children, and living in the greater Bridgeport area.
Elevate completed an evaluation of eight cohorts of participants in Bridgeport MOMS, in which the MOMS Stress Management Course was delivered virtually (through live-online classes) between May 2021 and April 2023.
Read the Bridgeport MOMS℠ Evaluation Report Executive Summary.
Bridgeport MOMS was supported by the Viking Foundation.
CBWCHC MOMS Partnership
The Charles B. Wang Community Health Center (CBWCHC) in New York City partnered with Elevate to translate and culturally adapt the MOMS Stress Management Course for Chinese-speaking immigrant mothers in the greater New York City area. Together, Elevate and CBWCHC formed a Cultural Adaptation Steering Committee to guide this process, and conducted two pilot studies of the culturally adapted curriculum in 2022-2024.
In 2024, a second cultural adaptation of the MOMS Stress Management Course began – an adaptation for Asian American mothers and women raising children who will participate in classes in English.
CBWCHC is supported by the Robin Hood Foundation.
Maine MOMS Partnership
Elevate is currently partnering with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Family Independence and the Bangor Housing Authority to establish Maine MOMSSM, bringing the Mental Health Outreach for MotherS (MOMS) Partnership® model and MOMS Stress Management Course to mothers/caregivers living in the Capehart community.
More information on Maine MOMS will be forthcoming as programming takes place and is evaluated.