What is needed to advance screening of FASD? Of course, building community awareness and professional training is essential to more effective screening, referral, and identification. But for building useful FASD screening systems, here are a few ideas:

• Create more FASD diagnostic clinics, which are likely to “naturally” stimulate outreach, screening and identification because patients referred to clinics often obtain desirable services.

• Use available active screening systems, such as photographic screening, especially among groups of children and adolescents at high risk.

• Focus on screening of “high-priority” groups. For example, young children are an important group to screen because of the potential positive impact treatment might have early in life. Especially important are young children highly likely to be prenatally substance-exposed (such as young children of women in chemical dependency treatment, or those in foster care, or international adoptees). Another important group to screen are youth in the juvenile justice system, who then might receive more appropriate sentencing and rehabilitation.

• Explore new ways to carry out active screening.

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