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Associations of Parental Marijuana Use With Offspring Marijuana, Tobacco, and Alcohol Use and Opioid Misuse

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2755867   Key Points Question  Is parental marijuana use associated with marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol use and opioid misuse by adolescent and young adult offspring living in the same household? Findings  In this cross-sectional study including 24 900 father-offspring or mother-offspring dyads, parental marijuana use was associated with increased risk of marijuana and tobacco use and opioid misuse …

Dawson County PFS Foster Care Christmas Party  2019

What a great time!!!  Dawson County PFS Prevention Specialist Stacey O’Tremba teamed up with the local Foster Care Support Group to hold their first annual Christmas Party for foster children and their foster families. After talking with foster parents in the support group about needs they had, they expressed the desire to just have fun …

 Mental Health First Aid Now Being Offered In Carbon and Stillwater Counties

By Mary Cameron Initially, all I’d ever known about Mental Health First Aid was that everyone I’d ever talked to that had taken it, had loved it. Natasha Sailer, Stillwater County Public Health Nurse emailed me the 6 page application and a flyer that read, “What to Expect at a Mental Health First Aid Instructor …

Montanan’s Attend CADCA National Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C.

CADCA Overview-Sue Brurud-Hill/Blaine County Prevention Specialist As a prevention specialist just finishing my first year on the PFS grant, I learned so much at the CADCA conference in DC. All of the classes were very educational, well organized and engaging. I was able to meet adults and youth engaged in prevention work throughout the country, …

Be the Change 406 Youth Coalition Members Get An Up Close Experience of National Government

Dillon Middle School 8th graders, Brooklyn Williams and Olivia Kailey, members of the Be the Change 406 Youth Coalition, traveled to Washington D.C. last week with adult coalition members; Kim Martinell, Katherine Buckley-Patton and Andrea Schurg to attend CADCA’s 30th Annual Leadership Forum. While there, Brooklyn and Olivia had the opportunity to attend workshops: Empowering …

Gina Tracy joins BHDD as PFS Grant Manager

My name is Gina Tracy and I gratefully accepted the Partnership for Success Grant Manager position in the Addictive and Mental Disorders Division (BHDD) within the Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS). I previously worked as a Prevention Specialist, and before that, I worked with a few nonprofit organizations and in the Quality Improvement Department at the Montana State Hospital. Overall, I have been working in the public sector for nearly ten years. I earned my Master of Public Administration degree from the U of M in 2017 because I care about working for the public interest rather than working towards a profit margin in the private sector. I have experience with grant management, public budgeting, strategic planning, and meeting regulations mandated from state and federal funding sources, which will be helpful in my new position as the PFS Grant Manager. I am also passionate about prevention, because I understand the many issues related to substance use/misuse. I know, first hand, how important a Prevention Specialist’s work is in the community, and I am honored to be a supportive role in the prevention process.

 I am from Anaconda, MT but live in Helena, and I am part of a beautifully blended family. My husband and I have four children ranging from 9 years old, to 15 years old.  Both my husband’s and my ancestors migrated to Montana from Ireland slightly before and after the Easter Rising, so we share some common preferences. We mostly support the children in their extra curricular activities, but we also enjoy outdoor activities, treasure hunting, gold panning, and simply spending quality time together. We are always up for an adventure, whether it be looking for lost Montana gold, or hiking new terrain to catch mountain lake trout.