About FASD Hawaii
Our Mission, History & Team
Mission & Vision
Our Mission is to raise awareness through education, advocacy, and research on the impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) on individuals, their families, and the communities of Hawai’i.
Our Vision – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Invisible no more.
Goals & Objectives
Our primary goal over the long-term is to educate:
- Females and males in the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy to reduce the number of children born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in Hawai’i;
- Parents, caregivers and service providers in the identification and treatment/s of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and;
- Department of Education and private schools to raise awareness and offer professional development courses to recognize students with FASD and provide the environment and teaching methods to support their education.
To this end, we will continue our efforts to raise awareness on FASD in our communities, with service providers, families, government human services and organizations who support and fund programs addressing prenatal health, substance abuse treatment, and developmental disabilities and the general public through training, research, advocacy and developing meaningful resources in the State of Hawai’i.
Our Values
Respect. We treat all people with dignity, compassion, and respect.
Integrity. Integrity is the foundation of our collective actions and drives our organization and all its members.
Collaboration. We work passionately together with all stakeholders, partners and all ohana communities.
Excellence & Innovation. We strive towards excellence and bold creativity for social change.
Privacy. We respect peoples’ privacy.
History & Status
Hawai’i Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Action Group started in Hawaii in 2016 as a collaborative group of volunteers to conduct research, raise awareness, and promote FASD education. We partnered with The Coalition of Drug-Free Hawaii since 2016 and FASD Communities became our fiscal sponsor in 2018.
In 2016 we began building collaborations with various agencies, departments, and other support services. These include Lili’uokalani Trust, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, State Developmental Disabilities Council, Legislative Mental Health Committee & Keiki Caucus, Hawaii Maternal Health and Infant Collaborative to raise awareness and assist in program development to support people and families dealing with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. We also collaborate with community coalitions on Oahu, such as Community Works (C.W.) 96744 in Kaneohe/Kahaluu and Evaluation in Ewa/Kapolei that focus on keeping communities safe.
Founder & Team
Ann S. Yabusaki, Ph.D, MFT
Founder & Director
Kenichi Yabusaki
Treasurer
Cleota G. Brown
President, Secretary & Director
Alan H. Shinn
Vivian Aiona
Sina P. Pili, MSW
Jane Onoye, Ph.D.
Robert Mikala Armstrong
Stephen W. Lane, Ph.D.
Management Team
The Board of Directors will be active in the day-to-day operations in support of the Executive Director. To contain costs initially we plan to utilize volunteers, contractors and partner resources until we have funding for fulltime administrative staff.
Advisory Board
An advisory board comprised of caregivers, representatives from agencies, and state departments who serve people with FASD, community coalitions, research groups in the community such as the University of Hawaii Center for Disability Studies and the state epidemiological research group. Because this is a voluntary Board, we recognize the challenges of engaging people and agencies across the state to participate.