Education

Educating students with FASD is one of our most important societal responsibilities.

Problem: Diagnosis is difficult and requires persistent effort. Only a very small percentage of affected children are ever diagnosed.

Problem: Many of the undiagnosed drop out of school.

Problem: School failure results in additional costs to society.

Solution: We could improve chances of success for the FASD-affected by providing an open door to alternative and vocational education for any student exhibiting behaviors typical of FASD exposure. 

Benefits for all: Giving FASD-affected children appropriate education increases their chances of living productive, fulfilling lives as contributors to society.

More Thoughts on Prison Reform

A recent New York Times editorial cites the European approach to corrections, which emphasizes rehabilitation as a model  that could prove useful in overhauling the disastrous U. S. prison system.

The comparison suggests that we should keep non-violent offenders out of jail by reforming rigid sentencing, zero tolerance, and three strike policies.

One of the many benefits would be to keep minor offenders from the influence of more experienced inmates. Sandy, for example, received quite a thorough criminal education during her many incarcerations.

Another troubling aspect of the U. S. prison system is its high percentage of mentally ill inmates. When state mental hospitals closed, there were no alternatives for the severely mentally ill. Without a support system, most ended up on the street, enduring psychiatric episodes, self-medicating with alcohol and drugs, and committing petty crimes.

Jails then became de facto crisis intervention centers. This Wall Street Journal article details the dismantling of our mental health hospitals and effects upon correctional institutions. Mentally ill prisoners currently cost this country $9 billion every year. Since 94% of FASD-affected people become mentally ill, they are certainly part of this problem.

We can improve mental health services within the prison system. As head of psychiatry for Washington prisons said of the increasing number of severe situations, "Prisons can't say no to the mentally ill. They have to solve the problem."

We can also make a sizable dent in our inmate population and numbers of the mentally ill, by aggressively publicizing that fact that drinking during pregnancy can cause life-shattering, irreparable brain damage to the child and bring high costs to society.

FASD and the School to Prison Pipeline

Photo Credit: http://www.hpjc.org/pipeline

Kudos to Broward County, Florida for making serious changes in school zero-tolerance policies that have been sending disproportionate numbers of racial minorities and special education students into the criminal justice system for non-violent misdemeanors.

FASD-affected students, with their lack of impulse control and judgement, are highly likely to make mistakes that make them candidates for needless incarceration.

The chart below illustrates the cost of criminalizing behavior that in the past would have been handled by the school:

Photo credit: http://ivn.us/2012/12/15/senate-committee-holds-hearing-on-school-to-prison-pipeline/

While the cost of incarceration to society is staggering, the cost to individuals can be devastating.

We must look instead at positive alternatives: generous funding of public education and after-school programs, restorative justice, and dismantling the school to prison pipeline across the nation.

Photo credit http://www.suspensionstories.com/school-to-prison-pipeline/