Pictured is the Cause and Consequence planning committee. Back row, from left, are Cathy Burgess, Annie Rosenthal and Kia Briggs. Front row, from left, are Melanie Witkowski, Andy O’Brien, Nicole Kimball and Wendy Douglas.

CELORON — On Thursday, Oct. 25, Chautauqua County will welcome Dr. Ira Chasnoff, an author and national speaker, for a Cause and Consequence: Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy and the Vulnerable Child event from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel, 10 Dunham Ave., Celoron.

Community members and agencies working with children and/or pregnant women are welcome to attend the free community-based learning and planning experience to understand the effects of drugs and alcohol on the exposed child and interventions that should be implemented.

Chasnoff will focus his session on pregnant and parenting women at risk for alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use and the children who are born affected by prenatal exposure. He will emphasize how prenatal substance abuse prevention and enhanced learning and behavior management early in life can help a community avoid the human and financial costs of prenatal substance exposure and serious emotional and behavioral problems of early childhood.

Chasnoff, an award-winning author, researcher and lecturer, is president of NTI Upstream and a professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine in Chicago. He is one of the nation’s leading researchers in the field of child development and the effects of maternal alcohol and drug use on the newborn.

Drug and alcohol abuse during pregnancy is a serious concern in the Chautauqua County area. According to the last community health assessment, the rate of newborns that test positive for drugs in Chautauqua County is nearly 2¢ times greater than New York state as a whole.

Leanna Luka-Conley, Deputy Commissioner of Adult, Children and Family Services, said the event is a community event being made possible by the contributions of the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, UPMC Chautauqua, Chautauqua Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council, Western Regional Addiction Resource Collaborative, The Resource Center, The Chautauqua Center, STEL, Mental Health Association of Chautauqua County, Chautauqua Tapestry and American Association of University Women.

The event is free and open to the public. To register, visit cause-and-consequence.eventbrite.com or call Nicole Kimball at 753-4117. Reservations are required.

Dr. Ira Chasnoff