The Next Steps Program Development Survey received 33 completed and consented responses between July 2 and August 20, 2026. We invited feedback from people with a range of perspectives, including professionals, peers, Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and community members. Respondents represented all five B.C. health regions, including 9 respondents from Kamloops and surrounding communities. Five respondents self-identified as Indigenous, including 2 Indigenous Elders/Knowledge Keepers.

Strong Support for the Program

All 33 respondents (100%) rated a bridge program for pregnant and postpartum parents in early recovery as important, with 29 respondents (88%) rating it very important.

The most important immediate supports identified were:

• Staying together with baby: 23 (70%)
• Infant care support: 17 (52%)
• Recovery support: 16 (49%)
• Food, transportation and other basic needs: 14 (42%)
• Cultural, spiritual or identity-based supports: 12 (36%)
• Help navigating MCFD or delegated Indigenous child and family service agencies: 10 (30%)

Program Design

Respondents strongly supported a model that combines recovery programming with the realities of pregnancy, postpartum recovery and parenting an infant.

Key priorities included:

• Baby-friendly spaces: 88%
• A combination of group and one-to-one support: 82%
• Staff knowledgeable about trauma, substance use, parenting, postpartum needs and child welfare: 82%
• Flexible programming times: 70%
• Practical prompting and coaching: 64%

Of the 30 people who answered the programming schedule question, 25 (83%) preferred two or more shorter programming blocks rather than one continuous two-hour session.

Safety Priorities

Respondents identified several areas requiring specific planning and staff capacity:

• Postpartum mental health crisis: 26 (79%)
• Return to substance use: 23 (70%)
• Safe parenting, infant care and feeding: 20 (61%)
• Infant sleep safety: 15 (46%)
• Family or intimate partner violence: 13 (39%)
• Unsafe or concerning visitors: 12 (36%)

Recurring Themes

Written responses consistently described a missing transition point between hospital or withdrawal management and longer-term recovery programs or community living.

Major barriers identified included:

• Unstable or unsafe housing
• Lack of infant and parenting support
• Difficulty accessing treatment while keeping parent and baby together
• Child welfare involvement
• Stigma
• Transportation barriers
• Expectations of newly postpartum parents that may be unrealistic during early recovery

Respondents emphasized the importance of a calm, welcoming, home-like and non-punitive environment, while still maintaining clear safety expectations and substance-free boundaries. There was also strong support for individualized responses to return to substance use rather than automatic discharge following an off-site return to use.

Overall Finding

The survey provides strong provincial evidence of a significant gap for pregnant and newly postpartum parents who need a safe, structured bridge between acute services and longer-term recovery or independent community living while remaining with their infant.

The findings closely support the proposed Next Steps model: small-scale, home-like, parent-and-infant focused, recovery-oriented, flexible and staffed by people who understand the intersecting realities of substance use, postpartum health, parenting and child welfare.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey and share their knowledge, experience and perspectives with us.