Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Toolkit

Policy context

In the Scottish Government's strategic approach to tackling alcohol misuse^[1], Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol (2009), Point 69 focuses on children affected by parental alcohol use and a commitment to "support children and families affected by any kind of parental substance misuse, whether drugs or alcohol".

Children Affected by Parental Substance Misuse (CAPSM) is now integrated within the Scottish Government's wider change programme, Getting it Right for Every Child^[2] and the work of the Early Years Collaborative in achieving the aims of maximising children's development. Together these provide a framework for joint working to deliver better outcomes for children. Early intervention is identified as a priority and in particular a focus on pregnancy and preconception as the most effective time to intervene. The Christie Commission^[3] report on the future of public services emphasises a shift from treatment to prevention.

"...as much as 40% of all spending on public services is accounted for by interventions that could have been avoided by prioritising a preventative approach." (Christie Commission 2011)