Examples of prevention activities conducted by the MSACD Prevention
Program include:
The MSACD Prevention Program serves as the state expert on Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and other drug related birth defects.
The Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development Project at Emory
University have been in existence since 1982 and is still the most
comprehensive of its kind in the U.S. The MSACD Project was originally
funded to examine the immediate and long-term consequences of Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome at a time when there was disagreement in the professional
community as to whether or not the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome existed.
The MSACD Project was one of the earliest to obtain consistent data
that The Maternal Substance Abuse prenatal alcohol use resulted
in affected children. The MSACD Project was the first program to
produce data regarding FAS in African-Americans and continues to
be recognized as having more data on FAS in African-American children
than any other source. The Howard University School of Medicine
frequently consults with the project for information and data. The
MSACD Project also provides information and data to the U.S. Indian
Health Service, and the MSACD Project director was a member of the
National Institutes of Health team that conducted a site visit to
Russia under the Gore/Chernomyrdin agreement.
In early studies conducted by the MSACD Project, the Project was
the first to demonstrate that prevention and intervention with pregnant
substance-abusing women produced results. These early studies indicated
that 1/3rd of women stopped drinking during pregnancy as a result
of being told of the dangers to their child, and the MSACD Project
was the first to demonstrate that those women who stopped drinking
by the second trimester delivered babies who were of normal birthweight
and improved cognitive outcomes. By 1985, the Project developed
the FAS Screening Checklist for identification at birth of infants
affected by prenatal alcohol use. In 1995, the manual was written
and distributed. The MSACD Project has consistently demonstrated
that perinatal identification of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome accurately
predicts later development. The MSACD Project has also demonstrated
psycho/social aspects of FAS as a way of identifying specific defects.
This knowledge is a critical base upon which to develop prevention
and treatment programs for children with FAS at both the neuropsychological
and social levels of their functioning. The information gathered
from the MSACD Project is being used to identify treatment and prevention
programs may be effective to minimize the disorder, as well as information
about social/behavioral functioning that may decrease or prevent
the costly secondary disabilities that are now documented in children
and youth with FAS (e.g., troubles with the law, mental health problems
and disrupted school experience.)
The MSACD Project also developed the Georgia Addiction in Parenting
Project (GAPP) which provided evidence that women using alcohol
who were able to function with their children in the relatively
normal environment of the GAPP halfway-house were better able to
use resources to prevent further alcohol use, abuse and dependence.
The GAPP program's educational component provided public and professional
information to transfer knowledge from research to practice. Subsequently,
the GAPP program was spun off into two programs in Atlanta and Columbus,
Georgia.
With the introduction of cocaine as a maternal substance of abuse,
an approach similar to the Fetal Alcohol Study was activated as
part of the ongoing maternal substance abuse prevention program.
Similar to the FAS studies, federal funds provide the research component
of these studies while the educational and prevention aspects are
supported by the state funds.
The staff of the Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development
Project has a breadth and depth of experience in working with substance
abusing women and their children. We are dedicated to the prevention
of the multiple, negative consequences of maternal substance use
and/or abuse and the provision of a range of prevention services
and activities to state agency and community-based staff across
the state.
The MSACD Prevention Program delivers scientifically-based training
on FAS and other drug related birth defects to a wide range of audiences.
The staff of the Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development
Project provide training to enable human service professionals and
communities to implement maternal substance abuse prevention programs.
Some examples of the recipients of training and technical assistance
provided by the MSACD Project include:
New Visions
Treatment Center
Atlanta Alliance
for Developmental Disabilities
Georgia State
University
Morris Brown
University
Project Embrace
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
Cobb County
Department of Family and Children's Services Foster Parents Training
Series
Georgia Department
of Human Resources, Office of Adoptions
Centre for Excellence
in Child Development, Ottawa Canada
Rockdale Hospital
Newton/Rockdale
Perinatal Coalition
Veterans Administration
Hospital, Atlanta, Postdoctoral Training Program in Addictions
FAS Parent Support
Group
Department of
Family and Children's Services of Georgia (DFCS)
Georgia Department
of Human Resources Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities,
and AddictiveDiseases
Families of
Children Under Stress (FOCUS)
Society for
Research on Child Development (SRCD)
Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF)
Integrated Life
Center
Gwinnett County
Foster and Adoptive Parents Association
Kennedy Head
Start Center
Child Protective
Service Workers, DFCS
Sadie G. Mays
Health and Rehabilitation Center
Georgia State
University Project Healthy Grandparents
Research Society
on Alcoholism (RSA)
Marcus Institute
Bethany Christian
Services Adoption Agency
Emory University
Department of Psychology
Emory University
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Families First
The MSACD Prevention Program provides appropriate identification
and referral services for children and youth impacted by maternal
substance use/abuse and/or at high risk for fetal alcohol and other
drug related birth defects as a result of prenatal exposure to alcohol
and other drugs.
The Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development Project staff
continue to work on their goal of identification and referral of
prenatally exposed children by identifying and referring children
and youth at high risk for substance abuse due to their prenatal
exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs through the mechanisms
of the Marcus Institute Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Clinic and Emory
University-State Newborn Genetic Program. This Clinic has continued
to expand its services during 2002-2003. Currently, the Clinic serves
200 families a year providing multidisciplinary evaluation and referrals
with the goal of preventing the secondary disabilities associated
with prenatal alcohol and drug exposure. In addition, program evaluation
is assured by comprehensive monitoring of activities within the
clinic to characterize clients, referral sources and recommendations.
This monitoring involves abstraction of medical records of clients
and control groups and entry of this information into confidential
databases. With the advent of the HIPAA laws, a number of procedures
were put in place within the Clinic to assure patient privacy and
confidentiality without interfering with provision of services.
Drs. Coles, Howell, and Kable have provided services to this clinic
on a weekly basis.
The MSACD Prevention Program develops and disseminates scientifically-based
educational materials related to the latest trends and research
in maternal substance abuse and child development.
To increase awareness of providers and professionals, the project
continues to provide our newsletter series on substance abuse issues.
Newsletter articles and MSA NewsLines are generated on a monthly
basis, and submitted to over 20 state and national organizations
for consideration and publication in their newsletter venues. Examples
of newsletter articles and MSA NewsLines submitted by the MSACD
Project include:
Understanding
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Women and Smoking
Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Tracking High
Risk Families
Infant Mental
Health
Labeling of
Containers and the Prevention of Drinking During Pregnancy
Stress and the
Developing Brain
Developmental
Impact of Lead Exposure and Lead Poisoning
Early Identification
of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
From Birth to
Adolescence: Long Term Effects of Alcohol Exposure
Psychological
Aspects of Pregnancy
Update on Effects
of Cocaine in Pregnancy
A Still Illusive
Expectation: Prediction of the Risk of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Based
on Maternal Genotype and Alcohol Use in Pregnancy
The Influence
of Maternal Genotype on FAS
The MSACD Project was successful in getting these articles published
in a number of newsletters, including those of the Georgia Department
of Family and Children Services, the Georgia Psychological Association,
the Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities, and the Families
Affected Support Newsletter. Articles were also published on the
MSACD Project web page.
The MSACD Project also develops curriculums, brochures and fact
sheets for use statewide in a variety of settings. Examples include
a Smoking During Pregnancy Fact Sheet, and a Marcus Institute Fetal
Alcohol Center Fact Sheet. These have been widely circulated throughout
the state at our various educational and community- based outreach
efforts. In addition, we continue to distribute the previously produced
FAS Fact Sheet which is available in English as well as a Spanish
translation; the Drug Use during Pregnancy Fact Sheet, the speakers
bureau brochure to raise awareness of our training and technical
assistance efforts; the FAS full-color brochure; and the FAS Parent
Support Group brochure. In addition, a number of curriculum modules
were outlined and created to disseminate knowledge across a breadth
and depth of topic areas. Examples of the curriculum modules produced
by the MSACD Project include:
Smoking Cessation
During Pregnancy
Social Policy
and the Prevalence of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy
Alcohol in Pregnancy:
Long Term Effects on Development
Stress Management
for Parents of Affected Children
Children of
Substance Abusing Families
Knowing your
Child from the Inside Out
Prenatal Exposure
to Alcohol and Cocaine
Teaching Safety
to Children: Fire Safety and Street Safety
Prenatal Exposure
to Nicotine, Cocaine, Marijuana and Opiates
FAS Clinic at
the Marcus Institute
Three Things
to Do with Your Child
Substance Abusing
Families
Raising a Secure
Child
FAS/D as a Process
in Time
Behavior Management
in Children of Substance Abusers
The MSACD Prevention Program serves as an information resource
center on maternal substance use and/or abuse and child development
issues including effective maternal substance abuse prevention strategies,
consequences of maternal substance abuse, and FASD and other drug
related birth defects. Prevention activities included within this
mandate include:
The MSACD Prevention Program maintains a maternal substance
abuse and child development web site to provide current, relevant
and accurate information for human service professionals and the
general public.
The Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development WebSite is designed
with several goals in mind. We wanted to provide user-friendly,
accessible information about the effects of prenatal drug and alcohol
exposure for caregivers, teachers, or others in a general audience.
Pages under these links contain short articles on specific topics
of interest, explaining the physical and behavioral consequences
on prenatal exposure to commonly-used drugs, behavior problems that
are often seen in exposed children, and tips on how to deal with
these behaviors in the home and classroom. Most of these articles
were written by members of the MSACD project and reflect the individual's
area of expertise. Some of the articles were collected from the
NIDA, NIAAA, and NOFAS web sites, to show the corroboration among
experts in this area. We have also assembled pages of links and
other information on places throughout Georgia and across the Internet
where people can find help and support for dealing with some of
these problems. Another goal was to provide more in-depth information
for professionals and researchers. Included under the "Information
for Professionals" button is a referenced summary of each of
our various research projects, abstracts from research that has
been presented or published, and recommended references from the
scientific literature. The theme of this set of pages is that determining
the outcome of prenatal exposure to drugs is a very complex issue
and depends on many levels of interaction between physiological
and environmental variables. Finally, we wanted to highlight our
activities in the area of prevention. The button for "Prevention
Activities" is linked to pages describing our various community-based
efforts in education and prevention. Included here is information
on how to identify a child with FAS and the location of clinics
in Atlanta and across the state that specialize in treating the
child with FAS. We also have information on the speakers bureau
we established under the general theme of "Drug Awareness for
Healthy Children," geared towards providing community groups
with professional advice on the issues related to maternal substance
abuse. The web page also contains a general introduction to the
identity and qualifications of the members of the MSACD project
and a link with information for soliciting volunteer subjects for
our current research.
The MSACD Prevention Program develops and disseminates a minimum
of four new pieces of educational material, including but not limited
to: brochures, fact sheets, or newsletters.
The MSACD Project developed curriculum, brochures and fact sheets
for use statewide in a variety of settings. Examples include a Smoking
During Pregnancy Fact Sheet, and a Marcus Institute Fetal Alcohol
Center Fact Sheet. These have been widely circulated throughout
the state at our various educational and community- based outreach
efforts. In addition, we continue to distribute the previously produced
FAS Fact Sheet which is available in English as well as a Spanish
translation; the Drug Use during Pregnancy Fact Sheet, the speakers
bureau brochure to raise awareness of our training and technical
assistance efforts; the FAS full-color brochure; and the FAS Parent
Support Group brochure.
In addition, a number of curriculum modules
were outlined and created to disseminate knowledge across a breadth
and depth of topic areas. Examples of the curriculum modules produced
include:
Smoking Cessation
During Pregnancy
Social Policy
and the Prevalence of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy
Alcohol in Pregnancy:
Long Term Effects on Development
Stress Management
for Parents of Affected Children
Children of
Substance Abusing Families
Knowing your
Child from the Inside Out
Prenatal Exposure
to Alcohol and Cocaine
Teaching Safety
to Children: Fire Safety and Street Safety
Prenatal Exposure
to Nicotine, Cocaine, Marijuana and Opiates
FAS Clinic at
the Marcus Institute
Three Things
to Do with Your Child
Substance Abusing
Families
Raising a Secure
Child
FAS/D as a Process
in Time
Behavior Management
in Children of Substance Abusers
The MSACD Prevention Program provides parent training and support
for the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Support Group.
The MSACD Project continues to support and facilitate parent efficacy
through maintenance of a productive relationship with the FAS Parent
Support Group. Through presentations, articles submitted to the
support group newsletter, as well as attendance at support group
functions such as their annual picnic, project staff regularly interact
with parents within the community who are caregiving children born
prenatally exposed to alcohol and other drugs. MSACD staff also
maintains regular contact with parents via the FAS Task Force of
Georgia. Many presentations also have included other parents within
the target audience, such as Families First Foster and Adoptive
Family trainings and DFCS foster family trainings.
Examples of trainings conducted for the FAS Parent Support Group
this year include:
FAS: What We
Know and What is New
Cognitive Delays
and Secondary Disabilities
Behavior Management:
Managing the "Meltdown"
The MSACD Prevention Program conducts a minimum of 14 trainings
per contract year to state agency and community-based organization
professionals and community groups as requested.
The MSACD Prevention Program provides training to enable human
service professionals and communities to implement maternal substance
abuse prevention programs: The recipients of training and technical
assistance provided by the MSACD Project includes:
New Visions
Treatment Center
Atlanta Alliance
for Developmental Disabilities
Georgia State
University
Morris Brown
University
Project Embrace
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
Cobb County
Department of Family and Children's Services Foster Parents Training
Series
Georgia Department
of Human Resources, Office of Adoptions
Centre for Excellence
in Child Development, Ottawa Canada
Rockdale Hospital
Newton/Rockdale
Perinatal Coalition
Veterans Administration
Hospital, Atlanta, Postdoctoral Training Program in Addictions
FAS Parent Support
Group
Department of
Family and Children's Services of Georgia (DFCS)
Georgia Department
of Human Resources Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities,
and Addictive Diseases
Families of
Children Under Stress (FOCUS)
Society for
Research on Child Development (SRCD)
Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF)
Integrated Life
Center
Gwinnett County
Foster and Adoptive Parents Association
Kennedy Head
Start Center
Child Protective
Service Workers, DFCS
Sadie G. Mays
Health and Rehabilitation Center
Georgia State
University Project Healthy Grandparents
Research Society
on Alcoholism (RSA)
Marcus Institute
Bethany Christian
Services Adoption Agency
Emory University
Department of Psychology
Emory University
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Families First
The MSACD Prevention Program actively participates in quarterly
FAS Task Force meetings.
To meet the objective of facilitating community-based processes
to enhance community ability to effectively address maternal substance
abuse issues, the MSACD Project participates in both the National
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Task Force as well as the Georgia Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome Task Force:
Dr. Claire D. Coles of the MSACD Project represents Georgia on
the National Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Task Force. Issues addressed
by the National Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Task Force include facilitation
of national initiatives for improvement of diagnostic processes
for affected children, improving services for women and children,
education of professionals, as well as evaluation of efforts of
national and international agencies to prevent and treat prenatal
alcohol exposure.
The MSACD Project also provides technical support and consultation
via participation in regular meetings of the Georgia FAS Task Force.
With other community stakeholders and the leadership of the March
of Dimes, MSACD project staff participate in planning for increased
community awareness, involvement, and action. Dr. Howell is currently
co-chair of the Task Force, and Drs. Coles and Falek are active
participants of the Task Force and its various committees. The focus
of the Georgia FAS Task Force has been to further plan for and seek
implementation of the best practice models for prevention, treatment
and intervention. |