The Washington State Legislature has allocated $2 million to Maddie’s Place, a Spokane-based recovery nursery for babies experiencing withdrawal due to prenatal substance exposure, also known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS.

The bill that includes the $2 million appropriation now awaits Gov. Bob Ferguson’s signature.

The funding, which comes out of Washington’s Opioid Abatement Fund, will allow Maddie’s Place to continue operating through the summer of 2026, according to a press release from the nonprofit.

Earlier this month, Maddie’s Place announced it was “at serious risk of closing its doors” if it didn’t receive $2.2 million in continued funding in the 2025-2027 budget.

Shaun Cross, president and CEO of Maddie’s Place, says in the release that the process of seeking this funding has laid the foundation for the organization to seek a permanent funding model in the legislative session that will begin in January.

“No stone will be unturned in our efforts to obtain a permanent solution to our funding,” Cross says. “We’re seeing so many lives changed by our services at a cost substantially below the current model of care.”

Since opening in 2022, Maddie’s Place has cared for over 130 NAS-affected infants and supported about 90 parents.

A Washington State University report found that in 2022, the NAS rate in Spokane County was more than triple the national NAS rate. The Washington state rate was nearly double the national rate.

According to an April 17 press release from Maddie’s Place, the nonprofit has already admitted 27 NAS-affected infants this year, putting it on track to serve nearly double the number of babies it helped in all of 2024.