Office of the Governor

PROCLAMANTION

*FASD AWARENESS DAY*

WHEREAS, healthy children are the most important resource in the great State of Arizona, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) pose a serious threat to the potential health of our future generations; and

WHEREAS, more than thirty years have passed since Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) was identified and named as a birth disorder by United States researchers; and

WHEREAS, prenatal exposure to alcohol can cause birth defects, mental retardation, learning disabilities, attention deficits, and behavior disorders; and

WHEREAS, half of all women of childbearing age drink alcohol, and half of all pregnancies are unplanned; and

WHEREAS, there are approximately 10,000 children in the foster care system in Arizona affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol; and

WHEREAS, the cost to Arizona taxpayers for special education and juvenile justice services for children with FASD is estimated to exceed $25 million per year; and

WHEREAS, the incidence rate of full FAS is estimated at 1 out of 500 live births and the incidence rate of FASD is estimated at 1 out of every 100 live births; and

WHEREAS, individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders often have secondary disabilities, such as trouble with the law, substance abuse issues, disrupted school experiences, employment problems, and homelessness; and

WHEREAS, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are entirely preventable; and

WHEREAS, people around the world began observing International FAS Awareness Day on September 9 each year beginning in 1999, in order that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should abstain from alcohol; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Senate has passed a resolution designating September 9, 2005 as National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day, and has called upon all states to observe FASD Awareness Day; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Janet Napolitano, Governor of the State of Arizona, do hereby proclaim September 9, 2005 as

*Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day*

in Arizona, to promote awareness of the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol, to increase compassion for those individuals so affected, to minimize further effects, to ensure healthier communities across Arizona in the future.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Arizona.

______________________________

GOVERNOR

Done at the Capitol in Phoenix on this _____ Day of _____________ in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five.

 ATTTEST:

 ______________________________

Secretary of State