Substance Use & Addiction: The Impact on Families' Health and Wellbeing.

302 South Broad Street,Clinton SC 29325

30 November, 2022

Description

All individuals whether they work directly with children, families, or others need to be aware of identifying substance use and or disorders (SUD) and how to respond on behalf of the individual, child, and family. Individuals need to be aware of substance use trends (for personal safety as well), how to assess for it and how to refer and engage individuals in services as well as recognizing signs of overdose and how to respond. Working with families who are affected by SUD, can be challenging and involves a collaborative approach to coordination of family care, as well as an understanding of how SUD affects the individual and parenting. Presented by Thornwell and the Palmetto Association for Children and Families (PAFCAF), this informative time of fellowship will feature instruction from Michelle Cunningham, a 20-year veteran of the healthcare field as a registered nurse and current program manager and liaison with SCDSS and the SC Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS). CEUs may be available. Training Objectives By the end of this presentation, participants will: 1. Identify signs of parental/caregiver substance use 2. Describe impact of addiction on the brain and parenting 3. Identify SUD treatments and when MAT may be used 4. Identify resources for families impacted by substance use and addiction 5. Describe prevention for FASD Event Details Wednesday, November 30th Schedule 9:30 – 10:00 | In-Person Participant Check-In 10:30-Noon | Training 12:00 | In-Person Participant Lunch Lunch will be provided for all in-person participants - - - About the Presenter, Michelle Cunningham Michelle Cunningham is a Registered Nurse with over 20 years of experience caring for patients, educating, and advocating for families. Michelle enjoys working with others to identify areas and issues in SC that affect the health and well-being of citizens, no matter the age, and then develop communication strategies to align with multidiscipline stakeholders at the local and state level, developing programs and raising awareness of societal issues that impact health and well-being of South Carolina Citizens. Michelle provides project management and leadership in multiple areas and initiatives including improving SC Birth Outcomes and the Behavioral Health Workgroup, Children’s Advocacy, Infant Safe Sleep, FASD prevention and awareness, Child Abuse Prevention, ACEs, the Opioid Epidemic, Behavioral Health, Human Trafficking, Family Wellness Support Plans, Handle With Care Program and fatality review committees regarding children, domestic violence and overdose. Michelle's current role is Program Manager and Liaison with SC DSS and the SC Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS). Michelle enjoys working with others and building relationships and collaborations at the local, state, and national level. Longer Session Overview: The session will provide an overview of substance use (drugs and alcohol), addiction, and the impact on parents, caregivers and families. The current state of substance use at the national, state level and local levels, describing the changing landscape (from prescription drugs to Heroin, Fentanyl, and newer synthetics more potent than Fentanyl) will be discussed. Steps SC is taking to address identification, recognition, and treatment services through initiatives, coalitions and programs will be discussed (EX; SC BOI Behavioral Health, In-Depth Technical Assistance (IDTA) grant, Family Wellness and Support Plans, SBIRT, Impactt, LTW, OERT, ECHO). Signs of substance use will be reviewed as well as how to assess for it using - SBIRT Tool and then the process of referring and engagement in treatment and the importance of the warm hand in the handoff. Other areas that will be discussed in the presentation are the impact of addiction on the brain and parenting, what are treatment options for SUD and the differences, when MAT may be used, understanding the basics of urine drug screening/drug screens and results, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and prevention, signs of overdose and utilization of NARCAN. Resources for families impacted by substance use and addiction, the language of recovery, and describe changes in word use and how agencies and organizations can collectively work together to serve families and children impacted by substance use. Substance use has become more prevalent at the state and national level in the past three years and especially since the onset of COVID-19, with fatal overdoses surpassing 100,000 in the past year alone. in my role working with SC DSS and DAODAS and coalition work with agencies addressing children and families, substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders are the leading causes of involvement in child welfare and death in SC. All individuals whether they work directly with children, families, or others need to be aware of identifying substance use and or disorders and how to respond on behalf of the individual, child, and family. Individuals need to be aware of substance use trends (for personal safety as well), how to assess for it and how to refer and engage individuals in services. Working with families who are affected by SUD, can be challenging and involves a collaborative approach to coordination of family care, as well as an understanding of how SUD affects the individual and parenting.