SAMHSA FASD Center for Excellence
Monthly Update

1. NOFAS To Host Affiliate Summit, Hill Day, and Leadership Awards Benefit in May 20082. NIAAA: Alcohol Research Education Project Grants3. New Join Together Online Course on Medication for Alcohol Dependence4. ACOG Issues News Release in Response to Good Morning America’s Program on Moderate Drinking5. 21st Annual NPN Prevention Research Conference Call for Proposals1. The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) will host their spring advocacy events on May 13-14, 2008 in Washington, DC.  Fourth Annual NOFAS Affiliate Summit Tuesday, May 13, 2008: The Affiliate Summit is an event to welcome new Affiliates, review activities, and update attendees about new resources and other relevant information. Affiliates are also invited to present on their organization’s progress. Non-affiliate advocates who interested in joining the meeting are invited to participate.NOFAS Annual Hill Day Wednesday, May 14, 2008: The Hill Day event allows families and FASD advocates the opportunity to meet with members of Congress and their staffs to share their experiences on living and working with FASD. For confirmed attendees, NOFAS will set up a series of meetings with the elected officials from your state and district. Participants meet with a Legislative Assistant and, when possible, with the member.NOFAS Leadership Awards Benefit Wednesday, May 14, 2008: The Leadership Awards Benefit is an event recognizing distinguished members of Congress, community leaders and other outstanding individuals for their commitment to the prevention of alcohol-related birth defects. The benefit will be from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at a location near Capitol Hill.If you wish to participate or have questions about any of the NOFAS advocacy events, contact Erin Bailey at bailey@nofas.org.2. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) will offer &&&Alcohol Research Education Project Grants to which seek to disseminate “new knowledge acquired from alcohol research to diverse audiences, including scientists, educators, clinicians, and other health and social service providers, patients and their families, professionals within the criminal justice system, and the general public.” You may link to the full grant announcement at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-082.html 

3. Join Together has developed a free online course for addiction treatment couselors titled, “Helping You to Help Your Patients: An Introduction to Medication for Alcohol Dependence.” This new distance education offering is free and designated for up to 2.0 continuing education credits.

4. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a press release on February 6 in response to a recent Good Morning America segment on drinking during pregnancy. You may link to the ACOG’s Web site to read the release, Alcohol and Pregnancy: Know the Facts, in its entirety.

5. The National Prevention Network (NPN) has issued a Call for Proposals for the 21st Annual NPN Prevention Research Conference scheduled August 24-27 in Indianapolis. The planning committee is seeking proposals for workshop presenters that have combined research, data, and practical application. NPN is anticipating proposals in each of seven core areas: Underage Drinking; Prescription/Over the Counter Drug Abuse; Social Marketing; Public Policy; Frontier/Rural; Cultural/Ethnicity; and Alcohol Industry Marketing. For additional information, please visit the NPN website at <http://swpc.ou.edu/npn >and click on “Call for Proposals” to learn about the conference proposal submission process.