In late 2008, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services (CBHRS) a three-year grant of more than $1 million to develop an FASD Regional Training Center (RTC). The Arctic FASD RTC seeks to increase FASD practice competence among medical and allied healthcare practitioners and students through developing and disseminating rurally-relevant and culturally-competent educational curricula, materials, and campaigns that will lead to increased knowledge, changed behavior, and modified training and licensure guidelines to make FASD highly visible in training program and healthcare settings.

The Arctic FASD RTC will train healthcare professionals, including social workers, speech and language therapists, physicians, nurses, and psychologists, as well as students in these health professions. All resources, once developed, will be made available at no cost to providers and educators in the region.The Arctic FASD RTC will build upon past and current efforts in Alaska:

• FASD CDC Surveillance Project
• Alaska State Office of FAS
  (5-year Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] Grant)
• FASD prevention, diagnostic, and intervention services
• FASD Summits
• FASD Prevention Collaborative Partnerships
• And many more statewide efforts

In addition to the Arctic FASD RTC, there are four other RTCs in operation around the United States: the Frontier FASD RTC, the Great Lakes FASD RTC, the Midwestern FASD RTC, and the Southeastern FASD RTC. All are funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Arctic FASD RTC has three primary goals:

1) Awareness: to increase awareness, knowledge, and behavior change among medical and allied healthcare practitioners and students, sensitive to a rural and cultural context

2) Resource Development: to develop rurally tailored and culturally competent educational curricula, materials, and campaigns that will lead to increased knowledge, changed behavior, and modified training and licensure guidelines, making FASD highly visible in training program and healthcare settings across this vast region

3) Resource and Information Dissemination: to disseminate education and resources throughout the region to reach a maximum number of stakeholders who can help us realize the prevention of FASD and reduction of FASD risk behaviors, with sensitivity to rural/frontier realities and an understanding of cultural diversity.

To meet these goals, over the course of the next three years, the Arctic FASD RTC will: 

• conduct needs assessments and other preparation activities 
• identify academic and professional areas in need of FASD content
• review and develop locally-tailored curriculum and training modules
• deliver lectures, trainings, and train-the-trainer workshops
• develop a website, brochures, and training materials
• create television and print notices, and flyers for healthcare agencies
• plan community events about FASD and work toward project sustainability

The Arctic FASD RTC is honored to have the assistance of national and local experts. Our national consultant group consists of Dr. Susan Astley, Dr. Sterling Clarren, Dr. Truman Coggins, Dr. Heather Carmichael Olson, and Dr. Tracy Jirikowic.

In addition, we have an advisory board that is made up of regional experts: Diane Casto, Anne Dennis-Choi, Jeanne Gerhardt-Cyrus, Sally Mead, Eric Noble, Lois Rockcastle, and Vickie Tinker.

Assisting us with our trainings are our affiliate faculty: Michael Baldwin, Heidi Brocious, Dr. Thomas Nighswander, Marilyn Pierce-Bulger, Cheri Scott, and Diana Steer.

Using the curriculum developed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Arctic FASD RTC will deliver education and training to professional and student groups on FASD. This training will take the form of workshops, seminars, and other presentations.

The project evaluation has three components: process evaluation, outcome evaluation to assess learners, and outcome evaluation to track RTC activities.

The evaluation is led by Dr. Mark Johnson and implemented by BHRS staff who are uninvolved with Arctic FASD RTC activities. The independence of the evaluation team serves to prevent bias in assessment and feedback. The evaluation utilizes mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) to structure a comprehensive utilization-focused evaluation with strong emphasis on documenting lessons learned. The strategy incorporates multiple small studies that are programmatically linked to a single overall evaluation, with focus on small rapid-yield studies that provide immediate formative input for project oversight and implementation. This philosophy results in responsive process evaluation that provides immediate feedback and has proximate implications for the Arctic FASD RTC. Qualitative, rapid-yield approaches are combined with quantitative outcome-oriented strategies with a longer-term perspective, identifying questions that need precise answers and drawing upon quantitative data collection. Evaluation activities will be approved by the University of Alaska Anchorage Institutional Review Board.