FASD Center for Excellence

FASD Prevention and Diagnosis and Intervention Initiatives

The FASD initiatives are intended to prevent FASD or to diagnose and provide interventions to those with an FASD. The initiatives are funded through 23 subcontracts and provided training and support by the FASD Center for Excellence.

The fifteen FASD prevention initiatives are integrating evidence-based interventions within local and State Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Healthy Start; and substance abuse treatment programs. The evidence-based interventions include alcohol screening and brief intervention, Project CHOICES, and the Parent-Child Assistance Program. These initiatives’ goal is to eliminate alcohol consumption by pregnant women.

The eight FASD diagnosis and intervention initiatives are integrating FASD screening, diagnosis, and interventions within local and State child mental health and developmental disabilities programs, and local juvenile justice and child welfare programs. These initiatives are to improve the functioning and quality of life of children and youth with an FASD and their families.

These initiatives started February 1, 2008. For more information on these initiatives, click here.

Past Initiatives

Past local, State, and juvenile court FASD initiatives are described below. These projects operated from late 2004 or early 2005 to early 2007.

Local Community FASD Initiatives

The FASD Center project of Northrop Grumman Information Technology's (IT's) Health Solutions division supported 17 subcontracts to local community organizations to integrate the prevention or identification and treatment of FASD into their existing service delivery system. Abstracts for these past local community FASD initiatives can be found here .

State FASD Initiatives

The FASD Center project of Northrop Grumman Information Technology's (IT's) Health Solutions division supported nine subcontracts to State agencies and organizations to integrate the prevention or identification and treatment of FASD into their existing service delivery system. Abstracts for these past State FASD initiatives can be found here .

Juvenile Court FASD Initiatives

The FASD Center project of Northrop Grumman Information Technology's (IT's) Health Solutions division supported five subcontracts to juvenile courts to develop, implement, and evaluate policies and procedures to screen at intake, refer for diagnosis, and intervene with juveniles with an FASD. Abstracts for these past juvenile court initiatives can be found here .

Identifying and Intervening with Youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Juvenile Courts
This poster discusses a SAMHSA-funded project in which five juvenile courts screened, diagnosed, and treated youth with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in 2006. The poster summarizes the methods and key findings of the study, and discusses the future implications of this groundbreaking work.

Hargrove, C. and Buxton, T. Identifying and Intervening with youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in juvenile courts. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, Washington, DC, November 2007.