Barriers to implementing holistic, community-based treatment for offenders with fetal alcohol conditions (original) (raw)
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Awareness of the social tragedies and legal difficulties caused by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder has been emerging since the 1960s. However, although a great deal is now known clinically about the disorder, its diagnosis and what needs to be done by way of prevention and management, a coordinated therapeutic and public health response in Australia has thus far been lacking. In turn, this is having a range of repercussions for the courts in evaluating accused persons' criminal responsibility and culpability. Two high-quality and extensive reports during 2012 from Western Australian and Commonwealth parliamentary committees have documented the problems and provided a blueprint for a collaborative and comprehensive intergovernmental response. The challenge for government is now to implement the proposals throughout Australia (and be guided by them in New Zealand) as a matter of urgency.
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2016
The study explored the experiences of individuals in the criminal justice system with a Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in order to identify possible ways to reduce the likelihood of re-entry into the criminal justice system. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture the voices of two participant groups: (1) individuals with an FASD, and (2) professionals who work with clients with an FASD. Qualitative research methods were used to analyse the data. Analysis of 20 interviews (n = 21) yielded three major themes: (1) primed to enter the system, (2) hindered within the system, and (3) strengthened to move beyond the system. Participants identified biological (e.g., poor decision-making abilities and inability to self-advocate), psychological (e.g., mental health issues and victimization), and social factors (e.g., limited social support) that increased risk of re-entry into the criminal justice system. Participants also identified strengths (e.g., hope, willingness to...
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2019
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) has a high prevalence in South Africa, especially among the poor socioeconomic communities. However, there is no specific policy to address FASD. Using a qualitative study design, we explored the perspectives of policymakers on guidelines/policies for FASD, current practices and interventions, and what practices and interventions could be included in a policy for FASD. The data analysis was done using the Framework Method. Applying a working analytical framework to the data, we found that there is no specific policy for FASD in South Africa, however, clauses of FASD policy exist in other policy documents. Preventive services for women and screening, identification, assessment, and support for children are some of the current practices. Nevertheless, a multi-sectoral collaboration and streamlined program for the prevention and management of FASD are aspects that should be included in the policy. While there are generic clauses in existing relevant policy documents, which could be attributed to the prevention and management of FASD, these clauses have not been effective in preventing and managing the disorder. Therefore, a specific policy to foster a holistic and coordinated approach to prevent and manage FASD needs to be developed.
Year 2000 Overview: Governmental Responses to Pregnant Women Who Use Alcohol or Other Drugs
2000
This Overview surveys civil and criminal laws directly addressing pregnant women's use of alcohol and other drugs. It reveals a patchwork of policies, some oriented toward treatment, some purportedly focused on child protection, some frankly punitive. If there has been any trend in the law in this area, it is that states have generally chosen treatment, education, and prevention over criminal sanctions, regarding drug use during pregnancy as a public health problem rather than a crime. At the same time, there has been a clear trend toward defining civil child abuse to include conduct during pregnancy that affects fetuses, specifically treating children who as fetuses were exposed to alcohol and other drugs as neglected or abused within the civil child welfare system. This approach can be highly punitive for both the mother and the child as it can lead to unnecessary removals of the children, depriving them in many cases of the opportunity to bond and live with mothers who are in fact very capable of parenting. Considering that much of the policies in this area first arose out of the media-fueled "crack baby" hysteria of the late 1980s, it is remarkable that most states have steered clear of a criminally punitive response to pregnant women's use of alcohol or other drugs. Listening to the wisdom of drug and alcohol counselors, medical professionals, researchers, social workers, and the women themselves, states have instead adopted a variety of strategies aimed at eliminating barriers to treatment, ranging from modestly expanding treatment opportunities for women with children to prohibiting pregnancy discrimination by treatment providers. Strategies that would have criminally punished pregnant women for seeking help for their addiction have-with a few notorious exceptions-been defeated. This restrained policymaking is cause for hope, but not celebration. This issue is volatile and, as South Carolina and Wisconsin prove, can still be lost. More to the point, simply avoiding punitive actions against women, some of whom are suffering as a result of untreated addictions, is plainly not enough. While throwing them in jail or treating any evidence of drug use as a basis for presuming an inability to parent are not the answers, neither is ignoring the abysmal lack of access to treatment that has characterized the nation's policy toward women with addictions. Replacing anti-drug hysteria and totalitarian policing of pregnant women with an informed and compassionate concern for women's wellbeing before, during, and after pregnancy will require resources and a national commitment to developing a system of care that works for women with a variety of needs. Such a new approach would draw on the best of our developing knowledge about the dynamics of addiction, the physical and sexual abuse many of the women have experienced, the intersection of racism and poverty, the shortcomings of our public health system, and the ways in which women's reproductive choices are stigmatized and second-guessed by a culture still confined by gender stereotypes. Such a new approach would honor women's choices about childbearing and devote serious attention to treating the disease of addiction-not simply for the sake of promoting healthy pregnancies, but out of concern for the women themselves. We hope to hear from you with feedback on this Overview and with news about developments in your state. Also, if you can, please take the time to complete the questionnaire at the end of this Overview. Your responses will help us better understand how the laws detailed in this Overview are affecting the lives of women. Thank you.
Canadian Graduate Journal of Sociology and Criminology, 2023
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) refers to the lifelong neurodevelopmental impacts resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure. Recent prevalence indicates it is a leading cause of developmental disability in Canada. Researchers have illustrated that the criminal justice system (CJS) is a common landing point for individuals with FASD, and entry commonly occurs during adolescence. Scholars have contributed to early intervention implementation or identifying FASD markers in adolescence to deter criminal behaviour; however, resources and information for individuals with current or historical CJS involvement require further attention. In this paper, we analyze newer research on the links between FASD and the CJS, discuss considerations from developmental perspectives and analyze salient issues involving youth with FASD. Three Canadian legal decisions involving justice-involved youth with FASD are drawn upon to mobilize three areas requiring further theorization and action regarding CJS responses to FASD. Using developmental perspectives, we centre the impacts of CJS on justice-involved youth with FASD and discuss possible resulting implications. We aim to highlight areas for further consideration when working with justice-involved youth with FASD, namely, gaps in early assessment and implementation of supports, needs to increase parent and caregiver capacity to maintain residential stability, and efforts to support desistance from crime in the context of an FASD diagnosis.
The sentencing response to defendants with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder
This article explores the sentencing response to defendants who have Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). FASD is the umbrella term for a range of effects that result from exposure to maternal alcohol consumption during gestation. Many who have this disorder have difficulty linking their actions to consequences, controlling impulses and remembering things and thus a diagnosis of FASD raises particular issues in sentencing. This article overviews the effects of FASD and the difficulties associated with its diagnosis. It then goes on to examine the appropriate aims of sentencing in FASD cases and addresses the question of whether, and if so in what circumstances, FASD should be perceived as a mitigating factor. The article concludes with a discussion of appropriate penalties for defendants who are diagnosed with FASD and makes some recommendations for increased education about the condition and increased access to resources for diagnosis and response to defendants diagnosed with FASD within the criminal justice system.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum: The Hidden Epidemic in Our Courts
A A slight boy with calm brown eyes sat in the windowless room, apparently undaunted by the array of authority figures surrounding him-his probation officer, teacher, principal, aunt, and unit supervisor. He was about to be released from Juvenile Hall into the care of his exasperated aunt, for the eighth time in his 16 years.After the probation officer rattled off the conditions of probation, he added a bracing, "OK, Bobby (not his real name), remember this stuff. It's all on you now. " Bobby, looking down at his hands, smiled an angelic smile and said, "OK. "Two months later we saw him back in the Hall; he had failed to show up for his drug test. Bobby lives with his aunt because his mother is in and out of rehab-mostly out. He has 16 credits-all from community or institutional schools. His little cousins love him because he plays with them gently; gangs love him because he will do the jobs no one else will. Practically everybody else is pretty tired of him. Bobby's small body is topped with an even smaller head-not noticeable unless you look for it, really not until you measure it, check the chart, and find it about average for a 5-year-old. After his most recent infraction, Bobby was now headed for the California Youth Authority, as he was seen to be incorrigible: He runs from the Ranch, he violates probation, he commits an endless string of little, stupid crimes. He doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes or their consequences. Thanks to an alert Fetal Alcohol Syndrome consultant in Juvenile Treatment Court, Bobby was referred to the FAS Clinic at our county hospital where his head was measured, along with his eyes, his upper lip and the little groove that runs from nose to lip. His memory and attention were tested, his visual-perceptual abilities, balance and coordination were tested, and his past history was reviewed in detail. His educational, physical, and interpersonal trail was littered with red flags of organic brain damage, yet Bobby's most consistent diagnosis over the years was Oppositional Defiant Disorder, which translates in most people's minds as a bad case of simple, voluntary pig-headedness.