Death exposes service gaps
REGINA — Despite concerns raised about support for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) after the death of a young boy, a group that hoped to expand its services in that area was stymied in its bid to get additional money from the provincial budget.
“Everybody seems to be recognizing that this is a huge hole in our system. We’ve been trying to get it filled, and it just doesn’t seem to be a priority,” said Leslie Allen, executive director of the FASD Support Network of Saskatchewan, in a recent interview.
“The lack of support services for individuals living with FASD — it’s appalling,” Allen said.
An official with the Ministry of Health said FASD is a high priority for the government.
“It’s a very important issue. It’s one that we’re really interested in, that there’s a focus on,” said Linda Restau, director of continuing care and rehabilitation. “We’re currently actively working toward improving some services.” Restau said the past year was spent evaluating FASD services, and the results have shown they are working.
“That was great to hear. We’ve got good information that can inform services or any plans going forward,” she added.
The Saskatoon- based FASD Support Network has offered support services for children with FASD and their families since 2011. As it had done several times before, the non-profit group sought $350,000 in extra money this year in hopes of expanding provincewide, especially in light of concerns raised after the death of sixyear-old Lee Allan Bonneau by a troubled 10-year-old child with severe FASD.
“We just expected that it was going to happen this budget year. And we’re really surprised to hear that we got nothing (to expand the program),” Allen said.
Restau said she couldn’t comment on that budget decision, but noted the ministry has implemented new FASD programs totalling $1.8 million annually over the last four years, including spending for prevention, addiction services, therapy, and some $400,000 alone specifically targeted to community supports such as mentorship and family programs.
The ministries of Social Services and Education also contribute to FASD programs, including funding for assessment, intervention and home support. In the last budget, the FASD Network was allotted almost $176,000, including funding for training foster parents.
Allen said more funding would have allowed the Network to hire additional support workers to better provide support services across the province. About 55,000 people are living with FASD in Saskatchewan — a number considered “a conservative estimate,” she added.
Restau noted that a comprehensive FASD prevention framework was released in December, and money put toward programs to support women to have alcohol-free pregnancies. Dollars flowing towards prevention is a good thing, but “you need to tend to both sides of the equation,” Allen said.
FASD support was one of a myriad of issues raised at the inquest examining Bonneau’s death. Witnesses testified the boy died on Aug. 22, 2013 after he was beaten with a stick and a rock by a 10-yearold boy, who can only be identified as L.T. Five months before Bonneau was killed, L.T. had been diagnosed with FASD, which expert Dr. Susan Petryk likened to a brain injury that occurs in the womb when a pregnant woman consumes alcohol.
L.T.’s FASD assessment report included suggestions to help the boy manage his brain injury, but Petryk told the inquest there is a gap in the system because there are no FASD consultants provincewide who can help people put such plans into action.
FASD support was also among the concerns highlighted by Saskatchewan’s Advocate for Children and Youth Bob Pringle this week in responding to the inquest findings. One of the 18 recommendations in his report last year into Bonneau’s death also called on the government to expand outreach and intervention programs for children with FASD. According to the province, the recommendation has been “fully implemented.”