“In partnership with the Red Deer RCMP Community Policing and Victim Services unit (CPVS), the Crown Prosecutor’s office, and various invested stakeholders, the Central Alberta FASD Network has initiated the FASD Youth Restorative Practice Intervention Program (YRPP). The YRPP initiative will utilize the principles of Restorative Practice to support the needs of individuals with FASD, who are also in conflict with the law, or at risk.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a diagnostic term used to describe impacts on the brain and body of individuals prenatally exposed to alcohol. FASD is a lifelong disability. Individuals with FASD will experience some degree of challenge in their daily living, and need support with motor skills, physical health, learning, memory, attention, communication, emotional regulation, and social skills to reach their full potential.
As a result of this disability, and the subsequent brain deficits, individuals with FASD are more likely to be impulsive, make poor decisions, lack an understanding of consequences, be easily persuaded by others, have an inability to understand what potential harms may be caused by criminal activity, and lack the ability to internally modify and control behavior. These impairments can, in turn, lead and contribute to problems with school and employment, substance misuse, mental health, social exclusion and early and repeated engagement with the law. As such, FASD individuals are overrepresented in the Criminal Justice System (CJS).
The YRPP program offers an alternative to traditional criminal justice system (CJS) responses to improve outcomes for the FASD offender, the victim(s) and the community.
