Preventing and treating fetal alcohol syndrome will be Saskatchewan's first priority in spending the money from the federal government earmarked for early childhood development. The costs of FAS are tremendous to society, but we know it is 100 per cent preventable and we simply have to target our resources. Fetal alcohol syndrome describes a pattern of abnormalities observed in children born to alcoholic mothers.
Babies tend to weigh less and be shorter than normal.
They also commonly suffer from smaller heads, deformed facial features, abnormal joints and limbs, poor co-ordination, problems with learning and short memories. Final allocations are left up to the provinces and territories. However the money does not come without conditions. Human Resources Development Minister Jane Stewart says premiers agreed to specifically show how they've used the money for children's programs and to report each year on outcomes. Last year, a Saskatchewan provincial court judge ordered social workers to create a treatment program for a young arsonist with fetal alcohol syndrome.