Dr. Kathryn Page writes, trains, advocates and consults on neurodevelopmental issues, primarily Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).  She is currently a trainer for the UC Davis Human Services Academy, the mental health coordinator at an agency serving Latinos in Marin County, a consultant for the State of California on FASD-related projects, and a member of the NIAAA Interagency Coordinating Council on FASD.  She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Center for Psychological Studies in Berkeley and did her internship in the Stanford University Psychiatry Department, specializing in alcohol and drug treatment. Kathy has previously worked as bilingual school psychologist, served on the juvenile drug treatment court team in Santa Clara County as the disabilities consultant, and was the educational disabilities coordinator at that county’s juvenile hall. She co-founded the California State FASD Task Force and was clinical director of two FASD diagnostic clinics.

More information - Biographical Sketch 

Article:  The invisible havoc of prenatal alcohol damage

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Back at my computer after a long holiday with family and.. well, mostly family, I am re-energized as I pore over the notes and bits of inspiration that came bursting out of our December retreat. Community Action Partnership provided a great space for us to come together, new faces and old, to re-examine why we do what we do and how we do it.

picture from: www.plu.edu/~carlsokl/collaboration/home.html

Why do we do it? Well, we have a lot of exciting work to do in 2010. The 4Ps Plus (perinatal substance use screening) report provided by Public Health tells us that our work is not done. Women continue to drink alcohol and use during pregnancy in our county AND there is still a lot of misinformation out there about how much is safe to drink. The truth: No one knows. The science is not there to guide us to a ’safe’ level of alcohol or other substance use for a developing fetus. So that is why we say, “No alcohol during pregnancy.” And we will continue to say that in as many creative ways as possible so that no more children have to suffer and no more mothers have to worry that they harmed their child simply because they didn’t know.

On that note, the retreat teased out a lot of really exciting ideas and directions for Beginnings and NineZeroSLO which we will add to and refine at our next Beginnings meeting in February. I hope this update finds you all well and rested and ready for a new decade. Please find a re-cap of the 2009 Retreat and a calendar (click to download) of 2010 meetings below. See you in February!

2010 Beginnings Meeting Calendar

Beginnings Collaboration & Planning Retreat 2009     

Highlights of the Retreat:

• Hearing from our partner agencies (Public Health, ALPHA, & Martha’s Place) about the work they are doing to prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in our community
• Building collaboration activity: What did you look like when you were in high school? How are teens today different?
• Work group plans for 2010: A lot of really great ideas came out of these break out groups, but they did not have enough time. We will continue more of this discussion at our February Beginnings meeting.

Download pdf’s of some of the presentations below. Not all are currently available, but check back soon!

Retreat Introduction: Purpose of retreat, Why do we collaborate?

Beginnings Mission & Vision

4Ps+ Update – Marilynn McDermott, County Public Health

Beginnings Curriculum Update – Julissa Dyer, Program Associate ALPHA (not yet available)

Martha’s Place Program Update – Nisha Abdul Cader, Anne Marshall & Dot Stauble Martha’s Place (not yet available)

December 11, 2009

9am-2pm

CAPSLO Conference Room 1030 Southwood Drive

All Beginnings members and friends are strongly encouraged to attend this half-day session meant to strengthen our partnerships and set priorities for 2010. More information to follow.

Web-cast on Serving Substance Exposed Newborns

training Collaborative Approaches to Identifying and Serving Substance Exposed Newborns: Lessons From Four Demonstration Projects

Beginnings Steering Committee: November Meeting Minutes

The Steering Committee met the first week of November to discuss the Beginnings budget, revise the Mission and Vision, and begin planning for the December 11th Beginnings meeting.

New Beginnings Ad

Now showing at the Downtown Centre and Fremont movie theaters!

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Over 2000 flags, each representing a fetus exposed to alcohol in SLO County since tracking began in 2004. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation.

The church bells rang at 9:09am on the 9th day of the 9th month of 2009 to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. FASD Awareness Day activities culminated on the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse lawn where over 2400 flags were placed, each representing a baby who has been exposed to alcohol in the womb since our county began screening pregnant women in 2004. Speakers at the FASD Awareness Day event included: Jim Patterson, Shirley Bianchi, Susan Hughes, Rick London, & Shannon Klisch. A special performance by local teens from the Teen Mommalogues theatre project topped off the mornings events. See the SLO Tribune article here.

Special thanks to: County Public Health, J Carroll, Beginnings members and volunteers, the SLO County Courthouse and the local churches who participated in the bell ringing.

Thank you for your interest in helping to Support Alcohol Free Pregnancy!

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United Way Check

San Luis Obispo, Calif.- United Way of San Luis Obispo County has awarded a new Community Collaboration Grant to the San Luis Obispo County Child Abuse Prevention Council (SLO-CAP). The grant will be used to expand the Beginnings program, a collaborative effort that aims to make San Luis Obispo a community where every child is born free of the effects of alcohol, tobacco and drug exposure. The three-year, $75,000 grant will ultimately enable SLO-CAP and their partner agencies to reduce alcohol, tobacco and other drug use by pregnant women.