Evidence-Based FAD Prevention, Diagnosis and Intervention Programs

Did you know?

• FASD is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications.
• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are the leading preventable cause of developmental disabilities and birth defects. Annual costs of care for persons with an FASD in the U.S. are about $6 billion.
• Each year in the United States, as many as 40,000 babies are born with an FASD. However, Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are 100 percent preventable when pregnant women do not drink alcohol throughout pregnancy.

Information on FASD can be found at www.fasdcenter.samhsa.gov.

The FASD Center for Excellence includes funding for local, state, and juvenile court organizations to implement evidence-based prevention or diagnosis and intervention programs. The Center’s Coordinating Center oversees the development and implementation of the programs through a subcontract mechanism.

The Center funded 23 subcontracts in 2008 to conduct programs and collect process and outcome data between February 1, 2008 and May 31, 2012. The programs are to achieve one of two goals:

• FASD Prevention: Decrease the incidence of FASD by eliminating alcohol consumption by pregnant women.
• FASD Diagnosis and Intervention: Improve the functioning and quality of life of children or youth with an FASD and their families.

*The SAMHSA FASD Center for Excellence is managed by Northrop Grumman under a prime contract (Number 283-07-3001) awarded from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This FASD Subcontractors Program is a component of the work Northrop Grumman performs under its contract to operate the SAMHSA FASD Center for Excellence. Subcontracts will be awarded and managed by Northrop Grumman.

Stop and think. If you’re pregnant, don’t drink.