Pubdate: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) Copyright: 2000 The Sacramento Bee Contact: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento CA 95852 Feedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.html Website: http://www.sacbee.com/ Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.html Author: Ed Fletcher Bookmark: MAP's link to California articles is: http://www.mapinc.org/states/ca SUMMIT TARGETS DRUG ABUSE Participants vow to cooperate in creating unified battle plan Normally they are on the front line fighting substance abuse throughout the Sacramento region, but Monday nearly 300 of them gathered to help devise a unified battle plan. While officials estimate that one in 10 children born each year in Sacramento County test positive for drugs or alcohol, the problem of substance abuse is not talked about enough, said Paul Seave, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California and chief organizer of the daylong Anti-Drug Summit at the Convention Center. Seave and a host of political leaders and public officials who attended the summit pledged to get agencies fighting the problems to start talking to one another. The number of women who give birth to children while abusing drugs or alcohol could be brought down if agencies that give prenatal care communicated better, Seave said. Those who work daily with people combating substance abuse, with public officials sprinkled in, worked in groups of eight to identify the problems, the barriers to solving the problems and solutions to the problems. The results of the brainstorming sessions will be compiled to form a strategic plan for the Sacramento region to combat substance abuse. That plan is expected to be completed by the end of December. James Copple, vice president and chief operating officer of the National Crime Prevention Council, said it is important that each community create its own plan. "Because the communities are so different you get surprises. It's not just about money. There is a lot of good science and research on what works but we have a way to go," said Copple, who facilitated the brainstorming sessions. Jose Gonzalez, a summit participant, hopes the information will get where it needs to go. "One of my biggest concerns is that the information here won't filter down to the people who need it," said Gonzalez, who runs Mi Casa, a 20-bed recovery house. During lunch, actor Richard Masur talked about his 30-year battle with substance abuse and the lessons he has taken away from it. "We mostly all learned at home that drugs and alcohol could change who you were or change how you felt about who you were," said Masur, a past president of the Screen Actors Guild. One key to treating substance abuse is helping people deal with the underlying pain they were trying to escape by using substances, Masur said. - --- MAP posted-by: Eric Ernst