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VT MOMS Partnership℠

Elevate is partnering with the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) to replicate MOMS through Vermont Reach Up—the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Women will participate in MOMS’ Stress Management course, comprised of 90-minute weekly sessions for eight weeks. Partners from the Howard Center have been trained by Yale to provide the course in Burlington. Services began in March 2020.
Vermont MOMS Video

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Vermont MOMS Video

Ken Schatz, Commissioner of the Vermont Department for Children and Families, discusses the decision to partner with Elevate and DCF’s vision for the VT MOMS Partnership℠.

Vermont Goals and Needs Assessment

The Vermont MOMS Goals & Needs Assessment is a survey that the MOMS Partnership co-created so that mothers in Vermont could share what they want, what they need, and what goals they have for themselves and their families. 

The Vermont MOMS Goals and Needs Assessment was distributed in the Summer of 2019 to mothers contacted by VT DCF. Elevate analyzed data from 138 eligible responses.

Of the eligible mothers who completed the Vermont MOMS Goals and Needs Assessment:

  • Many self-reported low levels of social support, with 61.6% reporting a low level of social support.
  • Many were screened as at risk for clinical depression, with 43.5% of respondents receiving a score on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), a depressive symptom screener, of 16 or greater. CES-D score of 16 or greater indicates that an individual is at risk for clinical depression.
  • Many reported experiencing difficulties accessing treatment for mental and emotional health, including not being able to get an appointment soon enough, not having transportation, and clinic/doctor’s office not being open convenient hours.

The majority of survey respondents, 87.0%, identified as White and non- Hispanic. Respondents reported an average age of 34.0 years and caring for an average of 2.1 children. 

97% of respondents indicated they would be interested in receiving more information about VT MOMS in the future.

Click here to read the overview.

Click here to read the entire report.