Pubdate: Tue, 27 Dec 2005
Source: The Daily News (Longview, WA)
Copyright: 2005 The Daily News
Contact:   http://www.tdn.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3922
Author: Barbara LaBoe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

PROGRAM TARGETS ADDICTED MOMS

Little 3-week-old Taliah was born with 10 fingers and  10 toes -- and 
no drugs in her system.

It's the first time in three pregnancies that Niki  Kidrick didn't 
give birth to a drugged baby. And she  said it wouldn't have been 
possible without a new  program for Cowlitz County mothers battling addictions.

"She's the only one who tested clean (at birth),"  Kidrick said 
recently. "And without this program she  wouldn't have."

Kidrick used meth and drank alcohol while pregnant --  just as she 
did with her previous two children. Then,  in November, she lost 
custody of her 2-year-old  daughter because she'd relapsed after 
being clean for  18 months. Her 5-year-old son lives with her mother.

Child Protective Services has opened a file on Taliah  as well, but 
for now she remains with Kidrick in a  Longview drug treatment center.

The Parent-Child Assistance Program not only helped  Kidrick take 
stock of her life, she said, it helped her  find an in-patient drug 
treatment center much quicker  than she could have on her own. That 
gave Kidrick a  head start on recovery, and meant she wasn't using 
when  Taliah was born earlier this month.

And, she believes, it will mean the difference in  finally beating 
her addictions.

The Parent-Child Assistance Program -- called PCAP --  started in 
Seattle in 1991, but didn't come to Cowlitz  County until this 
October. It is run through the local  Drug Abuse Prevention Center 
and paid for with a  $350,000 state Division of Alcohol and Substance 
Abuse  grant.

The program began as research a project at the  University of 
Washington and its goal is to reduce the  number of children born to 
addicted mothers, improving  both generations' lives in the process.

"We've got to stop this cycle of generation after  generation of 
mothers giving birth to babies with drugs  in their system," said Gus 
Nolte executive director of  the DAPC.

According to UW, a survey of former clients found that  88 percent 
had completed drug or alcohol treatment and  47 percent had not used 
drugs or alcohol for more than  six months after leaving the 
three-year program. Also,  51 percent were using reliable birth control.

PCAP doesn't provide any drug treatment, but supports  clients in 
many ways. Advocates help clients set goals,  fill out paperwork and 
get to doctor appointments on  time. They give them rides and, in 
Kidrick's case,  advocate Katie Huntington was even in the delivery 
room  when Taliah was born.

In a way, the advocates are really paid best friends --  but best 
friends who don't give up on the clients and  don't condone clients 
lying to themselves or the  advocates. Once a client is accepted, she 
stays in PCAP  for three years, meaning the support lasts even after 
drug treatment is completed.

"I've been in the treatment field for many years, and  see this as 
being a link that's been missing," said Jan  Caliman, the local PCAP director.

The program encourages drug treatment, but also doesn't  kick 
participants out if they have a momentary lapse.  It also doesn't 
mandate a particular treatment program,  just that clients work at 
putting their life in order.

The center's five advocates come from a variety of  backgrounds and 
all have been trained by PCAP officials  in other state sites -- 
Seattle, Tacoma, Yakima,  Spokane and Grant County. Huntington has an 
early  childhood development degree and jumped at the chance  after 
working in a day care where one mother repeatedly  got clean and then 
relapsed, going in and out of  treatment centers on a regular basis.

"She had such a genuine love for her son and was trying  to do the 
right thing," Huntington said. "And if there  had been a program like 
this, I don't think she would  have had to go back."

Huntington had to search for Kidrick last month when  she moved 
without telling anyone -- hoping to get her  new apartment in order 
in a bid to keep Child  Protective Services from taking her older daughter.

Huntington and the other four advocates don't give up  easy. When a 
client goes missing, they call relatives,  they knock on doors and 
the scour the streets,  sometimes taking co-workers along to ensure 
everyone's  safety.

And, when Huntington finally found Kidrick, she spent  hours helping 
her set goals and developing a plan.

"She cancelled all her appointments that week to help  me," Kidrick said.

When Kidrick needed one more night before entering an  in-patient 
treatment center, Huntington convinced her  to leave her extra 
clothes in Huntington's car -- to  ensure she'd show up the next day 
for her admission  appointment.

And after that, Kidrick said she has no choice but to  finally get 
her life together.

She wants to go to school to become a certified  translator -- she 
already speaks Spanish -- and wants  to find an apartment in a safe, 
crime-free neighborhood  to keep her away from bad influences and 
temptations.  And she never wants to see anyone taking her children 
away from her again.

"I have to be willing to do it," she said of changing  her life. "But 
with Katie on my ass for three years  it's a lot more chance than 
doing it on my own."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom