Second National Roundtable on the Development of a Canadian Model for Calculating the Economic Impact of FASD: Youth Justice Component

Vancouver, B.C.
February 26-27, 2008

Context

In March 2007, as part of its work in supporting the development of Canadian evidence on FASD, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) hosted the first national Roundtable on the Development of Canadian Model for Calculating the Economic Impact of FASD. The goal was to come to an agreement on the components which should be included in a calculation of the economic impact of FASD to support eventual cost/benefit analyses of interventions. It was also suggested that the model needed to reflect the different stages of development so that trajectories could be tracked.

The second National Roundtable on the Development of a Canadian Model for Calculating the Economic Impact of FASD: Youth Justice Component held on February 26-27, 2008 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The focus of the meeting was to identify costs of FASD to the youth criminal justice system. Participants included lawyers, judges, police, program managers, probation officers, and policy officials from across the country.

When asked to outline some of the main elements of costs in the criminal justice system, participants pointed to the need for a better definition of the scope of this system, limited to youth age 12 to 18. In the end, those elements were determined to be:

• administration of justice
• alternative measures
• community coordinators
• corrections
• costs of breeches and re-offending
• costs to victims
• court ordered assessments
• crown
• defence
• diversion
• legal aid
• parole
• policing
• probation
• prosecution
• training

Although those hard costs are important to capture, participants were unanimous: the social costs of FASD must be acknowledged. Some significant challenges and ideas for moving forward were identified by roundtable participants.

The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Initiative continues to work with a range of partners and stakeholders to develop knowledge and evidence on the economic impact of FASD in Canada, which is expected to be a long term project.