Ontario is the last province in Canada without a provincial strategy to deal with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

“We are the only province who doesn’t have a strategy to prevent it and support the individuals with the disability,” said Sheila Burns, the new community in justice fellow for the Law Foundation of Ontario at Georgian College.

A provincial strategy on FASD will improve how “scant” resources are allocated and will result in better outcomes for individuals with the disability, said Burns, an FASD expert.

In order to move toward this goal and to provide better education to professionals such as social workers and police, Burns has been brought on board to the Orillia Campus for 10 months to develop two FASD courses for students.

“FASD is a very significant issue in society and the criminal justice system,” said Mary O’Farrell-Bowers, dean of Georgian College, Orillia Campus.

Read the full story in the Oct. 3 edition of The Orillia Packet and Times.