FASD Center for Excellence

East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

CSAP visited East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, April 11-12, 2002. The team met with Jan Kasofsky and Debby Cartwright with Capital Area Human Services District (CAHSD), the lead organization for this site. During the visit, CAHSD coordinated several work groups with over 40 organizations represented and another 20 unable to attend, but very interested in getting involved with preventing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in their community. Attendees included representatives from local print and broadcast media outlets, Earl K. Long Charity Hospital, the Regional Child Protection Office, the local March of Dimes chapter, the Chamber of Commerce, and individual health professionals such as OB/GYNs. From these attendees and their contacts, CAHSD will seek to foster relationships to develop the Partnership to Prevent FASD in East Baton Rouge Parish and serve as a leading community for the Nation.

From the work groups, CSAP and CAHSD identified numerous opportunities for uniting the East Baton Rouge community around the issue of FASD and empowering the community residents with knowledge about FASD.

The next step is to get organizations and influential groups on board with the Partnership to reach the community with this important health message. CAHSD is "very excited about what's to come!"