Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Surveillance Project: 2009-2014
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Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), collaborators in five states (Arizona {including a small part of Nevada}, Colorado, Georgia, and western New York) have designed a surveillance/tracking system to learn more about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ( FAS).
The goal of the project is to identify children under the age of ten (10) years of age with FAS by utilizing the available information, such as clinical, medical, hospital, and developmental
records. Information about each child will be collected from his/her records and analyzed; with the results hopefully identifying answers to some of the questions we have about FAS, such as:
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How far-reaching is the problem of FAS?
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Are there differences in rates of FAS and treatment and prevention efforts among different demographic groups?
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How should we target and measure the effectiveness of prevention efforts for FAS?
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Can we anticipate service and resource needs for individuals with FAS in different communities?
The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Surveillance Program in Colorado is a project of Colorado Responds to Children with Special Needs (CRCSN), the public health program for monitoring and preventing birth defects in Colorado. CRCSN has been funded since 1991 for FAS prevention and/or surveillance projects.
CRCSN was funded previously for FAS prevention and surveillance projects beginning in 1991 with the Disabilities Prevention Program, from 1992-1997 for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention and Surveillance, from 1997-2009 for Population Based Surveillance of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Surveillance of cases of fetal alcohol syndrome
Surveillance for FAS is conducted in seven metropolitan counties,
Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson.
Linking identified children and their families with services
Children identified through the surveillance system in the seven
counties and their families will be linked to appropriate services.
Linkage will be accomplished primarily though the clinic staff at
clinics that are evaluating them for fetal alcohol syndrome or through
notifying the public health nurses in the
Health Care Program (HCP) for Children with Special Needs in each
county. The nurses and other care providers receive training about FASD,
best practices in working with these children and families, and
resources in their communities.
More specific inquiries about these data or CRCSN are welcome and can be addressed to:
to write or call:
Colorado Responds to Children with Special Needs
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, DCEED-CRC-A3
Denver CO 80246-1530
Phone: (303)692-2700
Fax: (303)782-0904