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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
As part of Doreen Reid's work on a report, FASD and Justice Issues at the Community Level in the NWT, she informally surveyed RCMP officers, corrections services staff, community justice personnel and others to see how many believed their clients had some form of FASD.

The surveys took place between 2007 and 2010.

"I got ranges anywhere from 5 per cent to 95 per cent of clients they believed they had interacted with in the previous year that might live with a (form of) FASD," said Reid, the FASD Consultant and Project Co-ordinator of Community Justice and Community Policing with the GNWT Department of Justice.

According to a 2010 report published by the John Howard Society of Ontario, 60 per cent of Canadians believed to have FASD have been charged or convicted of a crime.

However, it is not known how many inmates in the NWT have the disorder. In a follow up e-mail to News/North, the territorial justice department said it does not keep numbers of how many inmates have FASD or any other disability.

"We do not track inmates by their disabilities, however, across the justice system we believe there is a significant number of people who many have FASD," the e-mail stated. "For inmates specifically, once we recognize people may have cognitive issues, we work with them to their ability and factor this into their case management."

Reid said part of that management involves developing a framework for stakeholders to help them recognize FASD as a disability, and provide resources.

Shirley Kemeys-Jones, the assistant deputy minister and solicitor general with the Department of Justice, said the goal is to help front-line workers develop customized plans for individuals who may have FASD. Kemeys-Jones said by treating FASD like any other brain disorder, workers, such as those with community justice committees, develop a better understanding of the barriers clients face.

"So you're not setting a person up for failure," she said.

There is currently no data on whether individuals with FASD are more likely to enter the justice system, according to the Canadian FASD Justice Committee.

"As of March 2010, the prevalence of FASD among individuals within the justice population has not been fully established," the website stated.

Reid said another key component lies in the education system. Supporting individuals with FASD from an early age reduces their risk of becoming involved in crime.

Kemeys-Jones said dispelling myths about FASD is also critical. She said while on a visit to a community, an individual who believed she had FASD was concerned that she would pass the condition along to her unborn baby simply by having the disorder.

Kemeys-Jones said she assured her and other community members that the only way a baby could develop FASD is by drinking during pregnancy.

"It was an unknown for them," she said.

Reid said ultimately, every aspect of a community needs to be involved to both prevent FASD and support those living with the disorder.

"We look at it in a community development approach," she said. "Little by little, we will see changes."

Pat Strus is the adoptive mother of children with FASD. She said while she has seen the affects first hand, she can't condemn mothers who drink while they're pregnant.

"I never blame the mothers for drinking. I don't think anyone intentionally harms their child," she said. "Every mother loves her baby, unborn or born."

Strus said there needs to be community-wide support to help mothers who can't stop drinking.

"I just think that it's hard to make that decision when you are a person who is self-medicating with alcohol or are part of a group of people who are self-medicating," she said. "There needs to be support."

Andy Langford, director of community wellness and social services with the territorial health department, said it is vital mothers understand that any amount of drinking while pregnant is dangerous.

"The important message is there is no safe amount, no safe time for a mom who is pregnant to be drinking," he said. "The other critical message is that FASD is 100 per cent preventable. If you don't drink while you're pregnant, your child can't possibly have FASD."

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