Lethbridge police Const. Mark Waage. (submitted by Mark Waage)

A unique program in Lethbridge, about 200 kilometres south of Calgary, is being hailed as a success by police, who told CBC News this week that it has helped hundreds of families keep their children out of jail.

The Lethbridge Justice Project was created 10 years ago after a police school-resource officer became frustrated with the lack of help available for a high school student who was always in trouble.

The teenager was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, FASD, caused when a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. Children afflicted with the incurable brain disorder have trouble with impulse control and knowing right from wrong.

Const. Mark Waage has been the full-time officer working on the justice project for the last four years.

"I'm basically a conduit, and making sure the person or the youth is properly advocated for when they are in the justice system," Waage said.

The constable was involved in close to 60 cases last year.

"The success stories are ongoing ... when I go in to the Crown and say, 'Look, here's an individual with FASD,' it's not an excuse for their behaviour but it's certainly an explanation for their behaviour," Waage said.

Many families being helped

The justice project has helped families in the Lethbridge area understand the disorder that afflicts their children and how to manage it, said Robert Coleman, the chief Crown prosecutor for the Lethbridge Region.

"They have brain damage ... they don't necessarily understand cause and effect, the usual justice or traditional justice consequences are likely not nearly as effective with these individuals as they are with somebody else," he said.

"My information in speaking with my Crown prosecutors and the city police offices [is] yes, that they definitely do not offend as often as they had in the past," Coleman said.

The father of a 16-year-old girl with FASD who was picked up for shoplifting and using a stolen credit card said through the efforts of Waage and in collaboration with the Crown prosecutor's office, his daughter received probation and community service for her crimes.

"He just met us down here at the courthouse on our court dates, went in and talked to the prosecutor and said, 'This is the story, this is what the family has been going through,' ... it seemed to be a lot lighter than it would've been had we not had Mark's help," the father said.

Bright future

Laura Elliott, a social worker with McMann Youth Services in Lethbridge, was the person who initially referred the young woman to a doctor for diagnosis.

Elliott finds it satisfying to help families understand why their children behave the way they do, and help these families and their children make plans for the future.

"She has some incredible strengths, very good with working with seniors ... she has a future, a great one, now that we know," Elliott said.

The teen's stepmother said the situation at home is much improved. "She's not on the honour roll by any means but ... she's making like 98 per cent of the classes and she's got like 60 per cent in her classes,70 per cent in some classes, and it's a lot better," she said.

There are plans to expand the project to work with adults afflicted by FASD, said Hazel Mitchell, co-ordinator of the FASD Alberta South network, who has been with the project since its inception.

"We're going to put in a project that will work with the adult in the justice system who is affected with FASD. So we're going to see if we can have some effect with that particular clientele as well," Mitchell said.

It's estimated that 20 to 30 per cent of adult inmates in Canada's justice system suffer from FASD, according to police documents.