Health committee advances resolution calling for interagency coordination on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

The House Committee on Health on April 17 adopted SCR 75 SD1, which urges the Department of Health to lead interagency work to address fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) statewide. Members amended the resolution to require the Department to provide information and education to improve prenatal health care and to include cannabis use among upstream mitigation topics.

Dr. Luann, testifying first on the measure, said prenatal screening and prevention are critical because many affected children are identified only after problems emerge. "Just one kid affected can be, you know, hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars," Dr. Luann said, urging prevention and early detection through prenatal services and low-cost laboratory screening where appropriate.

Amanda of the Hawaii FASD Action Group said the state lacks sufficient specialists and diagnostic systems to implement prior legislation (Act 192) as originally envisioned and urged the committee to use current work as a starting point for next-session legislation.

Darlene, a doctoral researcher who said she has interviewed doctors statewide, recommended explicitly including the judiciary in coordination to ensure judges and probation officers receive training and referral options; she said undiagnosed FASD often appears in school failure and criminal-justice involvement. "When FASD goes unrecognized, problems show up everywhere," she testified.

The Department of Health gave conditional support and cautioned for a systems-based approach to identify and support children’s needs holistically rather than focusing on a single diagnosis. The committee added upstream prenatal education and mitigation language and adopted the resolution; it set a report timeframe to deliver recommendations at least 20 days prior to the 2027 regular session.

What happens next: The Department of Health is requested to coordinate across agencies, develop interagency plans and education efforts on prenatal health (including cannabis), and submit findings and recommendations to the Legislature ahead of the 2027 session.