Mandatory Reporting in Ohio: Advocating for Substance Affected Infants & Birthing People | School of Law

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Add to Calendar: Add to Calendar: 2025-07-22 18:00:00 2025-07-22 19:15:00 Mandatory Reporting in Ohio: Advocating for Substance Affected Infants & Birthing People Event Description Please join the Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI) at Case Western Reserve University's School of Law for a webinar on Mandatory Reporting in Ohio: Advocating for Substance Affected Infants & Birthing People. This webinar is designed for medical professionals, social workers and anyone involved in testing and reporting policy around substance-affected infants and birthing people. Join a multidisciplinary panel of doctors, social workers and advocates as we examine Ohio’s mandatory reporting laws, the science of toxicology testing on birthing people and infants, and strategies for effecting change within hospital systems to support the health, dignity and rights of impacted families. Featured Panelists Kathleen Alto, PhD Clinical Psychologist Kathleen Alto is a licensed psychologist at MetroHealth System, a safety net hospital in Cleveland, and an Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree at Cornell University and her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology at the University of Akron. For five years, she has been a part of interdisciplinary teams dedicated to increasing access to medication for opioid use disorder (e.g., MOUD, buprenorphine) in underserved communities. Dr Alto's perspective is influenced by anti-oppressive and feminist frameworks, including harm reduction. Katie Corwin, Esq. Katie Corwin is a Legal Fellow at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI). Katie graduated from CUNY School of Law in 2024. While in law school, she did extensive reproductive justice work. Katie interned with the Center for Reproductive Rights and the National Abortion Federation. She also served as a Student Attorney for CUNY Law’s Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic. Katie also published an article in CUNY’s Law Review, Telehealth in Reproductive Health Care: A New Frontier in the Fight for Abortion Access, analyzing recent developments in telehealth abortion and how it can help expand access. Prior to law school, Katie worked for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Trina Pagano, MD, FACOG, FASAM Medical Director of the Obstetric Emergency Department, Residency Program Director, OB Hospitalist, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Obstetrics & Gynecology Institute of Cleveland Clinic Dr. Trina Pagano is an OB/GYN Hospitalist with board certifications in Obstetrics/Gynecology and Addiction Medicine. Her priorities include quality and safety in emergency obstetric care, obstetric emergencies, and acute care treatment of addiction in pregnancy. She completed both her medical degree and residency at The Ohio State University Hospitals. Dr. Pagano practiced full scope Obstetrics andGynecology for 20 years before making the career transition to full-time OB/GYN Hospitalist. Dr. Pagano currently serves as the Medical Director of the Obstetrics Emergency Department (OB ED) and Hospitalist lead, as well as the Program Director of the Cleveland Clinic Akron General Obstetrics/Gynecology Residency Program. She is also core faculty for the Cleveland Clinic Addiction Medicine Fellowship. Davida M. Schiff MD, MSc, Director of Perinatal and Family-based SUDs Care at Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Schiff is a general academic pediatrician, addiction medicine physician, and health services researcher focused on improving care for families impacted by substance use disorder (SUD). She is the Director of Perinatal and Family-based SUDs Care at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she founded the HOPE Clinic, a multidisciplinary program caring for pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorder and their families from the time of conception through the first two years postpartum. Dr. Schiff completed her undergraduate training at Columbia University, medical training at the Boston University School of Medicine, pediatrics residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital, general pediatrics research fellowship at Boston Medical Center, and master’s program in health services research from the Boston University School of Public Health. She has received federal funding from NIDA, SAMHSA, and the Department of Justice. Her scholarship has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Addiction, among other journals. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Laura Sullivan, MSW LISW-S, COO JustChoice Laura Sullivan, has a background in trauma therapy, child welfare, and as a host/foster family. Laura currently serves as the Chief Operations Officer at JustChoice, overseeing family preservation, all options counseling, and adoption. Laura is passionate about Reproductive Justice, relational programming, and disrupting systems that cause harm to those they were created to serve. As an adoption professional, Laura believes that an ethical pregnant person-centered adoption plan cannot be created unless all pregnancy options are presented. This work is deeply personal for Laura; her mother was a teen mother who became pregnant as a result of rape and didn’t have access to support or options. Laura is grateful for the opportunity to change the landscape for unplanned pregnancy and continually works to ensure that all pregnant people have a voice and access to their reproductive choices. Mishka Terplan MD MPH FACOG DFASAM Mishka Terplan is board certified in both obstetrics and gynecology and in addiction medicine. His primary clinical, research, public health, and advocacy interests lie along the intersections of reproductive and behavioral health. He is Medical Director at Friends Research Institute and adjunct faculty at the University of California, San Francisco where he is a Substance Use Warmline clinician. He is Co-Founder and Co-Director of Doing Right By Birth, a non-profit that seeks to flip the script from drug exposure to early childhood development. Dr. Terplan has spoken at local high schools and before the United States Congress and is internationally recognized as an expert in the care of pregnant and parenting people who use drugs. Lulu Zhao, MD, FACOG, FASAM. Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Lulu Zhao, MD, FACOG, FASAM is an Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She specializes in the care of pregnant and postpartum women with mental health disorders. After completing her residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Dr. Zhao pursued a reproductive psychiatry fellowship at the University of Michigan. There, she was first exposed to an integrated care clinic for pregnant women with substance use disorder, an experience that moved her to obtain her board certification in Addiction Medicine in 2019. Dr. Zhao founded the RISE-Moms perinatal addiction clinic in Cleveland, which provides comprehensive, integrated, and longitudinal care to over 100 families per year. She is active in education and research related to perinatal substance use, and has been an invited expert to forums such as the ASAM Annual Conference and The National Curriculum in Reproductive Psychiatry. School of Law School of Law America/New_York public

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Event Description

Please join the Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI) at Case Western Reserve University's School of Law for a webinar on Mandatory Reporting in Ohio: Advocating for Substance Affected Infants & Birthing People. This webinar is designed for medical professionals, social workers and anyone involved in testing and reporting policy around substance-affected infants and birthing people. Join a multidisciplinary panel of doctors, social workers and advocates as we examine Ohio’s mandatory reporting laws, the science of toxicology testing on birthing people and infants, and strategies for effecting change within hospital systems to support the health, dignity and rights of impacted families.

Featured Panelists

Kathleen Alto, PhD Clinical Psychologist
Kathleen Alto is a licensed psychologist at MetroHealth System, a safety net hospital in Cleveland, and an Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree at Cornell University and her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology at the University of Akron. For five years, she has been a part of interdisciplinary teams dedicated to increasing access to medication for opioid use disorder (e.g., MOUD, buprenorphine) in underserved communities. Dr Alto's perspective is influenced by anti-oppressive and feminist frameworks, including harm reduction.

Katie Corwin, Esq.
Katie Corwin is a Legal Fellow at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s Reproductive Rights Law Initiative (RRLI). Katie graduated from CUNY School of Law in 2024. While in law school, she did extensive reproductive justice work. Katie interned with the Center for Reproductive Rights and the National Abortion Federation. She also served as a Student Attorney for CUNY Law’s Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic. Katie also published an article in CUNY’s Law Review, Telehealth in Reproductive Health Care: A New Frontier in the Fight for Abortion Access, analyzing recent developments in telehealth abortion and how it can help expand access. Prior to law school, Katie worked for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Trina Pagano, MD, FACOG, FASAM Medical Director of the Obstetric Emergency Department, Residency Program Director, OB Hospitalist, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Obstetrics & Gynecology Institute of Cleveland Clinic
Dr. Trina Pagano is an OB/GYN Hospitalist with board certifications in Obstetrics/Gynecology and Addiction Medicine. Her priorities include quality and safety in emergency obstetric care, obstetric emergencies, and acute care treatment of addiction in pregnancy. She completed both her medical degree and residency at The Ohio State University Hospitals. Dr. Pagano practiced full scope Obstetrics andGynecology for 20 years before making the career transition to full-time OB/GYN Hospitalist. Dr. Pagano currently serves as the Medical Director of the Obstetrics Emergency Department (OB ED) and Hospitalist lead, as well as the Program Director of the Cleveland Clinic Akron General Obstetrics/Gynecology Residency Program. She is also core faculty for the Cleveland Clinic Addiction Medicine Fellowship.

Davida M. Schiff MD, MSc, Director of Perinatal and Family-based SUDs Care at Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Schiff is a general academic pediatrician, addiction medicine physician, and health services researcher focused on improving care for families impacted by substance use disorder (SUD). She is the Director of Perinatal and Family-based SUDs Care at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she founded the HOPE Clinic, a multidisciplinary program caring for pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorder and their families from the time of conception through the first two years postpartum. Dr. Schiff completed her undergraduate training at Columbia University, medical training at the Boston University School of Medicine, pediatrics residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital, general pediatrics research fellowship at Boston Medical Center, and master’s program in health services research from the Boston University School of Public Health. She has received federal funding from NIDA, SAMHSA, and the Department of Justice. Her scholarship has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Addiction, among other journals. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Laura Sullivan, MSW LISW-S, COO JustChoice
Laura Sullivan, has a background in trauma therapy, child welfare, and as a host/foster family. Laura currently serves as the Chief Operations Officer at JustChoice, overseeing family preservation, all options counseling, and adoption. Laura is passionate about Reproductive Justice, relational programming, and disrupting systems that cause harm to those they were created to serve. As an adoption professional, Laura believes that an ethical pregnant person-centered adoption plan cannot be created unless all pregnancy options are presented. This work is deeply personal for Laura; her mother was a teen mother who became pregnant as a result of rape and didn’t have access to support or options. Laura is grateful for the opportunity to change the landscape for unplanned pregnancy and continually works to ensure that all pregnant people have a voice and access to their reproductive choices.

Mishka Terplan MD MPH FACOG DFASAM
Mishka Terplan is board certified in both obstetrics and gynecology and in addiction medicine. His primary clinical, research, public health, and advocacy interests lie along the intersections of reproductive and behavioral health. He is Medical Director at Friends Research Institute and adjunct faculty at the University of California, San Francisco where he is a Substance Use Warmline clinician. He is Co-Founder and Co-Director of Doing Right By Birth, a non-profit that seeks to flip the script from drug exposure to early childhood development. Dr. Terplan has spoken at local high schools and before the United States Congress and is internationally recognized as an expert in the care of pregnant and parenting people who use drugs.

Lulu Zhao, MD, FACOG, FASAM. Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Lulu Zhao, MD, FACOG, FASAM is an Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She specializes in the care of pregnant and postpartum women with mental health disorders. After completing her residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Dr. Zhao pursued a reproductive psychiatry fellowship at the University of Michigan. There, she was first exposed to an integrated care clinic for pregnant women with substance use disorder, an experience that moved her to obtain her board certification in Addiction Medicine in 2019. Dr. Zhao founded the RISE-Moms perinatal addiction clinic in Cleveland, which provides comprehensive, integrated, and longitudinal care to over 100 families per year. She is active in education and research related to perinatal substance use, and has been an invited expert to forums such as the ASAM Annual Conference and The National Curriculum in Reproductive Psychiatry.