Edmonton and Area Fetal Alcohol Network Society Meeting Minutes The Society members met at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday,, 2015 at DECSA: Present: Denise, Lisa R., Laurel, Paul, Bernie, Qadra, Lori, Scott, Emily, Kelsey, Brittany, Erin, Miranda, Dani, Roxanna, Wendy, Fay, Kristen, Tracey, Sue, Brynn D., Aimee, Katherine, Lisa S., Thais, Cordene Absent with Regret: Ashley 1. Call to order and roll call Denise called the meeting to order 2. Approval of last minutes Brittany approved the last meeting minutes 3. FASD Tip Sheet Committee Topics for the next tip sheets are as follows: o January: Transition to Adulthood o February: How to help siblings of kids with FASD o March: Strategies for addressing stealing behaviours Members can send Miranda contributions based on the above topics January s tip sheet was sent to Qadra to be posted on the blog 4. Messaging Committee No update from EFAN messaging committee Other updates: o Catholic Social Services did media interview with Global News and CTV News o Denise Plesuk, Lisa Rogozinsky, and a caregiver took part in the interviews o The interviews were aired by both Global and CTV o Edmonton Sun ran a headline saying Alberta moms-to-be should raise a cocktail this new year o The body of the message was however, asking moms-to-be not to drink alcohol while expecting o The network coordinator did contact The SUN to edit their headline and they did not Page 1 of 6
5. Adults Support Groups Groups will start on January 13 th at Bissell Centre s computer room Groups are based on current McDaniel Youth Groups These groups are open to everyone and they do not need to RSVP to attend Groups will be held at Bissell Centre and JAC Qadra had posted the group poster on the blog Members can email Lisa or Qadra if they wish to be emailed the poster 6. Strategic Planning Day Due to the economic environment, EFAN will not hold strategic planning day out of a hotel Strategic planning day will be held at DECSA meeting room and it will be a half day event Meeting will start with financial and continue with other issues at the larger group Coordinator asked agencies/program to start thinking of agency/program specific gaps Identified gaps will help with future funding 7. Additions a) Barb McLeans s Contract update The plan is not yet ready Report should be ready by Friday Lisa will bring it to the next meeting Report will also be uploaded on the blog under 2016-2017 b) Membership Forms Membership can be found on the blog under 2016-2017 Members need to print the form and manually complete it Once completed, the form and the fees can be mailed to EFAN Membership is not due until April, but members can pay in advance if they want to c) Provincial Counsel Meeting Education and Training Council o Finishing up presentations to be used by agencies PCAP o Mentor Days will be held on 22 nd and 23 rd o Training location is yet to be determined Family Advisory Council o Parents and the province meet to discuss issues and gaps o Council is set to meet with a few AB Health Directors in March o Council needs people from the northern areas to attend their meetings o The council is also always looking for content for their site o Thais was informed about the Best Practice Document by Jacqueline Pei that was recently uploaded on EFAN s blog Page 2 of 6
Youth Justice Committee: o Lunch information session was held with the Grand Prosecution Office o All lawyers and youth workers were mandated to attend the lunch o Scott had a chance to share some success stories with the attendees o Scott also talked about McDaniel Youth Program o Crown Prosecutors are now in understanding with issues affecting youth with FASD who have run ins with the justice system o The meeting was fact based and Scott was able to answer all their questions Transition Meeting o This meeting is held every last Friday of the month o Meeting is held at Argyll Centre and it starts at 1pm o If members are interested they can contract Avril Frost at avril.frost@gov.ab.ca d) Prevention Conversation Contract ends June 2016 The individual on contract is responsible for updating the Prevention Conversation sites Hopefully this contracts gets extended past June e) The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Canadian Guidelines A guideline for diagnosis across the lifespan, 2015 was published online in the December Medical Association Journal The executive summary is expected to be out in print in February 2016 8. Program Updates A. Bridges Program Leduc County 4 on the waitlist Christmas party was a success o The party was quite a community event; Santa came, food bank donated food, and Santa Anonymous donated gifts o Program took everyone swimming by driving them or providing taxi slips o Transportation was a challenge during this event B. Extra Judicial Sanctions Less children have come through the system but the children with FASD are doing great with the supports that they have. C. Bissell Centre All programs except for PCAP are full PCAP program can use referrals Next frontline meeting is scheduled for January 12, 2016 o Ryan Kafara will present about recreation, benefits, and access Page 3 of 6
D. Glenrose Adults Assessment Clinic Things are going well 35 assessments out of 45 were done Clinic is scheduled up to the end of February March will be used for clean up Waitlist is at 6 Agencies can continue to send in referrals Clinic is transitioning into using the new guidelines language E. Glenrose Paediatric Assessment Clinic Lisa is still on leave Temporary position to fill her position will be posted F. DECSA Assets program is at capacity Transitions program is currently running 3 programs Ventures program will ran a six weeks workshop starting next week G. Inclusion Alberta No update H. Kids Kottage Program partners with Elves to provide respite on Saturdays Program received some fund raising funds Funds will be used to open another classroom Transportation remains a challenge Program is hoping to up their number to 40 Program held a kids Christmas party and Santa came Members were asked to refer vulnerable clients who will benefit from this program I. Youth Justice Project Hopes youth and justice committee continues to meet regularly J. Skills Society Program received holiday donations Staff were very excited to have issued items to persons with severer mental health issues K. CASA FAS TRACS The Snoezelen room is receiving a lot of traffic Waitlist continues to grow Page 4 of 6
L. McDaniel Youth Program Groups are going on well Christmas party was a success 7 boys are on the waitlist, there are no girls on the waitlist Colleen and Brittany did some networking this past month Program is currently down a female mentor Posting for that positing has closed recently M. Unlimited Potential Program is busy as usual Almost at capacity and still getting referrals Program is down one staff Tracy shared a Social media referral story o A 23 year old who recently received his diagnosis took on Facebook o He has no family in town and could not find ant supports o Someone who saw his post advised him to connect with Unlimited Potential o UP is currently supporting this young man N. Coaching Families Program Waitlist is low Program can use referrals Support group for caregivers is still on Lisa R., will present at the next support group O. WICS Program is at capacity Waitlist is at 4 Program is getting ready for a blood drive P. Catholic Schools Established community of practice for teachers district wide Q. Employability Waitlist is at 5 2 files have been closed Doing one more intake in January R. Robinhood Association No update S. CHIMO Youth Retreat Centre Chimo is a unique program that matches youth with mentors/families that they can live with Program has a short waitlist at the moment Page 5 of 6
T. Disability Services Human Services will start community practice U. Girls Empowerment and Strong No update V. Metis Nation of Alberta Agency will hold an FASD & the Law workshop at their head office Members can email Katherine @ khope@metis.org if they wish to attend W. First Steps Program Program is now fully staffed Supervisor is still on medical leave Program has space and can use referrals X. Step by Step Program Waitlist is at 3 Program is excited to be partnering with UP, Bissell, and EFAN in the Adults support groups Y. EFAN Sites are moving from graphic images as well as shaming and blaming Coordinator noticed that people are more interested in graphic posts Posts with the fetus or damaged brain get more traffic and engagement Meeting was adjourned at 10:35 a.m. Next meeting will be January 05, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. at DECSA Page 6 of 6