Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) Activities on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

In 1992, the Standing Committee on Health and Welfare, Social Affairs, Seniors and the Status of Women recommended that a national Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) resource centre be established. It also recommended that the National Clearinghouse on Substance Abuse, operated by Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), house this service. In response, CCSA negotiated funding to support an FAS/FAE Information Service, which began in 1994. Today, it is called the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Information Service.

By calling the toll-free telephone line, a reference desk, staffed by a bilingual information specialist, can be accessed from across Canada. Information on FASD is also provided on the CCSA website at http://www.ccsa.ca/Eng/Topics/Populations/FetalAlcoholSpectrum/Pages/default.aspx . The site features a ‘what's new' page, calendar of events, recommended readings and related resources. Clients of the service include caregivers, educators, students, social workers, health care and treatment professionals, members of the legal community, policy makers and planners, researchers and the general public. CCSA maintains a directory of FASD information and support services in Canada, which is also available on this website. CCSA's library holds over 1,400 documents on the topic of FASD and substance use during pregnancy.

CCSA has also partnered with the Health Portfolio on the following research projects:

Best Practices: FAS/FAE and the Effects of Other Substance Use During Pregnancy (2000) is based on a review of the scientific literature on FAS/FAE. This report identifies best practices for prevention, identification and intervention for FAS/FAE and for the use of other substances during pregnancy. Based on the consensus of a national steering committee, it is the first of a two-part project conducted by CCSA and funded by the Health Portfolio.

Situational Analysis: FAS/FAE and the Effects of Other Substance Use During Pregnancy (2000) provides an overview of FAS/FAE-related activities across Canada, based on the results of key informant interviews and a survey of programs. It is the second part of the project by CCSA, with assistance from a national steering committee and funded by the Health Portfolio.

Enhancing FAS-Related Intervention at the Prenatal and Early Childhood Stages (2001) provides an overview of programs and services for pregnant women, women with young children and their families off ered by Health Canada's Community Action Program for Children, Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program and Aboriginal Head Start. The report highlights elements of good practice found in these programs and services. Related to this project was the development of the FAS Tool Kit Internet resource (2001) and the Conversation Series on FAS and Substance Use in Pregnancy (2001), a set of four documents describing the features and successes of four prevention and intervention projects. The series was developed by CCSA based on interviews done by the Breaking the Cycle program in Toronto.

Mapping FASD Training Opportunities in Canada:An Environmental Scan (2006), was undertaken by CCSA to provide the Health Portfolio with information on the volume and type of FASD training activities across Canada. About 300 electronic surveys were distributed to capture training between April 2003 and March 2004. Participants' names were obtained from CCSA and the Public Health Agency of Canada.