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Ongoing NOFAS Colorado projects: The 17th Judicial District Project: Learning to Change the World for a Child The 17th Judicial FASD Initiative in Adams and Broomfield Counties has been in existence since September 2005, following 7 months of needs assessment and planning. This project identifies children in the juvenile court who have been prenatally exposed to drugs or alcohol, arranges for evaluations of the children, and supports the families, schools, and professionals in using the evaluation information to improve the lives of the children.
The project also identifies children under 5 who were exposed to drugs and alcohol prenatally and have been removed from their parents by the court. They monitor the development of these children to ensure that they receive the services needed to overcome any developmental lags that might appear. They work collaboratively with Early Childhood Connections and Child Find in this effort as they do with social workers and probation officers for older children. It is important for these children that the services be able to continue. The 17th Judicial FASD Initiative is a model program and one of the first in the country to provide intervention services for a large population of children and track the outcomes against a thorough needs assessment that was done before the project began. The intent of the project is to be able to demonstrate that by identifying, evaluating, and intervening on behalf of these drug and alcohol affected children, they can reduce the numbers of them in expensive out-of-home placements as well as the number leaving school before graduation and those entering the criminal justice system. Supporting the 17th Judicial FASD Initiative through the remaining two and one half years of its intended four year time-line will allow enough time to measure the impact and cost savings for the court, social services, and the juvenile justice system. This will provide NOFAS Colorado the data that it needs to demonstrate the value of identification and care of affected children to others in the state. Without new funding, this project will end this summer due to delays in congressional funding. |
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The
17th Judicial FASD Initiative identifies children whose mothers used drugs and
alcohol during their pregnancies. They arrange complete multi-disciplinary
evaluations for these children at the Sewall Child Development Center to identify any cognitive deficits related to
incomplete brain development. They provide the families with information about
how to parent their child and support in modifying their parenting approach.
They help modify the children’s educational programs to better meet their needs
and work with the staff at placements for those who are placed out of home so
that they understand their disabilities. In addition, they have an ongoing
parent support group which they encourage the parents and foster parents to
attend.