Effective Parenting Classes

All parents feel the pressure of knowing what they do or don't do during the development years of a child determines how the child turns out as an adult. Parents also recognize that no two children (even in the same family) are alike and they come with no guarantees! It's not an easy job...and there are no instruction manuals. Join with other parents and a trained presenter to discover positive tips for raising confident and healthy children. Effective Parenting classes are held weekly from 6 pm to 8 PM at one of three Kansas City, Kansas locations - Main and West Wyandotte Libraries and the Argentine Community Center- look below for schedule.

Parenting classes are now offered in Spanish at the Argentine Community Center and, as needed, at the Main Library. The instructor, Maribel Lopez, has been trained in the evidence-based curriculum Guiding Good Choices, as has Jeanette Green. Chiquita Miller, our third instructor uses a curriculum developed at Kansas State University by noted educator, Dr. Chuck Smith.

To register for classes, call Meredith Schraeder or Jeanette Green at 913.288.7685.

The dates for the November 2008 session of classes are November 6, 13, 20 and December 4, 2008. That class will be held at the West Wyandotte Library,

This course is offered in partnership with the Kansas State Research & Extension Office in Wyandotte County, the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, and the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library. Materials are provided by the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring.
For a printer friendly version of this schedule Parenting Brochure 2009

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Grassroots Leadership Training

These programs are held on the second Monday of each month in Upper Jewel on the Kansas City Kansas Community College campus. The purpose is to empower neighborhood residents by making them aware of strategies used to resolve problems and promote a safe, clean, and caring environment.

Topics have including a presentation on the Wyandotte County METH Project, How to Use Data when Planning for Neighborhood Change, under-age drinking, underage smoking and many other topics related to substance abuse prevention.

The program for Monday, December 8 will be Stacy Davis from Mental Health America of the Heartland talking about "Mental Health and the Holidays".

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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is the name given to a combination of mental and physical defects and disabilities first evident at a baby's birth and caused by the mother's consumption of alcohol. Formerly called FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) ARND (Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder) or FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects), the new term brings into focus the full range of problems a mother's drinking can have on her unborn child from severe physical malformation to a wide array of disabilities evidenced by behaviors.

Research has consistently found that the brain is the organ in our bodies most sensitive to the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol and other drugs. Alcohol kills cells, including those in the developing brain. The pattern of the mother's drinking overlaid on the baby's development determines where the defects or disabilities will occur.

FASD in the number one cause of birth defects in the USA and the only one that can be prevented.

An informational session on this topic is given by RPC staff member, Meredith Schraeder.
She can be reached at 913.288.7685.

Some facts about FASD • Maternal alcohol use is the leading known cause of birth defects in the United States. • In the USA, at least 55,000 with FASD are born each year. (Those are the ones that are diagnosed. No one knows how many are never diagnosed at all, leaving both parents and children to wonder what's wrong with them.) • FASD affect more newborns every year than Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome combined. • The institutional and medical costs for one individual with FASD are estimated to be $1.4 million over a lifetime. • In the USA, it is estimated that each year from $75 million to $9.7 billion is spent to help those with FASD. • Alcohol-related birth defects are 100% preventable if a pregnant woman does not drink alcohol. • Alcohol-related birth defects are the only birth defects that are 100% preventable. • There is no known safe amount of alcohol that a pregnant woman can drink and not risk damaging her baby. • At least one in five pregnant women drinks alcohol at some time during her pregnancy. The probability of having a child with FASD increases with the amount and frequency of alcohol consumed.

• Wine, beer or liquor all contain alcohol and all can cause damage to a developing baby. • Alcohol can damage the baby at any stage of its development • Alcohol kills specific cells in the developing brain. The pattern of cell death and subsequent defects vary with the stage of development at the time of alcohol exposure. • If enough brain cells are killed, the brain (and therefore the head) will actually be smaller. • Children with FASD are often not able to understand cause and effect, long-term consequences, sequencing or adaptation. • FASD isfound in all races and socioeconomic groups. • The disabilities of FASD stay with these children throughout their lives. • Many children who have FASD, but do not have the diagnosis are identified as behavior problems, when they behavior is actually a display of their disability

For information in a brochure format FASD Brochure

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SYNAR Tobacco Retailer Training

Due to a federal amendment proposed by the late Michael Synar, Congressman from Oklahoma, all states adopted a law limiting access to tobacco products by minors under the age of 18. As part of a merchant/retailer education program, the Regional Prevention Center of Wyandotte County will conduct trainings for employees and owners of outlets for tobacco sales that are accessible to youth. The trainings will include information, materials and support that will assist them in complying with the law.

	TRAINING The first training was held at the West Wyandotte library. Participants filled out anonymous pre tests to determine their knowledge before the training.
Any retailer needing information on how SYNAR applies to their business may phone RPC staff member, Meredith Schraeder at 913.288.7685.

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Baseline Training

Kansas Baseline Training is a two-day inter-active program designed to give you a personal awareness of the impact of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs on individuals, families and communities. By examining your own ideas and opinions and listening to those of others, a process is begun for working together to deal with this issue which, in some way, has touched all our lives.

The RPC offers this training on an as needed basis. It usually runs from 8 am until 3 or 3:30 pm and is held at the Conference Center on the campus of KCKCC, 7250 State Ave. There is a $35 fee for the two-day class which includes snacks and two lunches.

For more information on this training, please contact Meredith Schraeder, 913.288.7685.

Pictures from Baseline Training

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Senior Prevention, Intervention, Counseling & Education (SPICE)

SPICE is a program for assisting the older adult care providers and older adult themselves in coping with substance abuse problems. S.P.I.C.E.
offers presentations by volunteers/professionals for individuals or groups in the Wyandotte County area a number of topics, some of which are
listed below:

• retirement and the dangers of substance abuse • interactions of medications and alcohol • how age affects metabolization of medications • identification and treatment for substance abuse in the older adult S.P.I.C.E. can also offer trainings: “SPICEline” - Interactive full day training Clinical Pharmacology - Two hour computer training

For more information on this training, please contact Jeanette Green, 913.288.7685.

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