FASD Prevention and Support - CAHS Summary Report

Two years ago, the Canadian Academy on Health Sciences was commissioned by the Public Health Agency of Canada to determine the current status of FASD in Canada. This past June, CAHS released the final report after multiple consultation with all Canadian stakeholders with 28 recommendations. Two of those key findings as stated in both their main and summary report focused on FASD prevention through our educational system and supporting those in the child welfare system. While the report does find the general public awareness of FASD has greatly increased recently, there is still very little understanding of the risks of FASD. From an universal and broad-scale prevention strategy, they state: "School-based programs show promise in influencing alcohol consumption. Certain approaches such as programs that are interactive and focus on developing social resistance skills or targeted cognitive behavioural skills are associated with greater impact. For programs that try to raise awareness about FASD specifically, consideration of inclusiveness and respect, and the potential impacts on persons with FASD in the school population are important for any schoolbased programs seeking to raise awareness of FASD." This information comes from provinces that require health curriculum to include awareness on FASD unlike Ontario. In the fourth section of the summary report which looked at what tools, resources and supports are needed to improve outcomes for those with FASD across the life course, they also focused on individuals who grow up in the child welfare system. In 2013, meta-analysis research was done by Dr. Lange et al to determine the prevalence of FASD among children in the child welfare system and it was found to be 18% versus the general population of 4%. These individuals are also required to be discharged by MCCSS FASD System Navigators once they graduate from high school with no corresponding agency to transfer due to disability support ineligibility. These facts are part of the reason the Adoption Council of Ontario is bring a full delegation to FASD Awareness Day on Oct 23 as well. CAHS summary report captures all of these facts as follows: Access to timely and suitable interventions and supports can improve outcomes in relation to health and well-being, quality of life, education, employment, social relationships, and avoidance of problems with the justice system. A formal diagnosis is often not possible due to unconfirmed PAE or lack of diagnostic capacity, yet it is required for accessing many interventions and supports for people with FASD. Furthermore, people with FASD may be unable to access disability supports where they have an IQ above the cut-off point for eligibility despite experiencing significant challenges with adaptive functioning due to the symptoms of FASD. Across Canada, the siloed operation of social services and systems increases complexity for people with FASD and their families and makes the delivery of supports less efficient and effective. Mechanisms to address system fragmentation and complexity include efforts to integrate service provision and the use of system navigators or key workers. Stability and consistency of community supports can be enhanced by moving to a system of longer-term and sustainable funding for models that have demonstrated success, rather than relying on time-limited project-based funding. People with FASD are over-represented in the child welfare system, and involvement in the system is an additional risk factor affecting long-term outcomes. Supportive wraparound structures that aim to help and to preserve families are important. Other key elements to addressing this over-representation include ensuring that children and adolescents in the child welfare system are able to access diagnosis and supportive interventions as early as possible, and providing supports and training for kinship and foster care placements to enable continuity, stability and well-being. Youth with FASD transitioning out of the child welfare system benefit from stable supportive relationships and often need longer term, targeted supports that recognizes the slower pace with which the transition to adulthood occurs. We are pleased to be joined on Oct 23 by one of the 14 panel members for this report, Shannon Butt, who will be addressing attendees following MPP Jordan, MPP Clancy and MPP Fairclough at noon. This report clearly states while great gains have been made across Canada and Ontario in FASD prevention and support, there are still multiple areas of improvement. It should be noted all of the recommendation stated here do not require additional funding but rather shifting focus within our current systems to create a greater amount of positive outcomes for people living with FASD.