In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received a Congressional mandate to develop diagnostic guidelines for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and other prenatal alcohol-related conditions, to incorporate the guidelines into curricula, to disseminate curricula, and to coordinate these efforts with the National Task Force on FAS/FAE and others. In response to this mandate, CDC funded four universities and academic medical centers in 2002 to serve as FAS Regional Training Centers (RTC). The goals of the RTCs are to:

• develop, conduct and analyze population-based surveys of medical and allied health students and practitioners to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of FAS and other prenatal alcohol-related disorders; perceived barriers to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention; current practices; and resources needed to improve current practice behaviors.
• develop, implement, and evaluate educational curricula for medical and allied health students and practitioners that incorporate evidence-based diagnostic guidelines for FAS and other alcohol-related disorders.
• disseminate curricula to target groups and seek to have diagnostic guidelines and curricula incorporated into the training curricula of medical and allied health schools at the grantee’s university or college, other colleges and universities throughout the region and into the credentialing requirements of professional boards.

The FAS Curriculum Development Guide was developed by the RTCs and the CDC. It is intended to provide guidance in developing education and training programs for students and practitioners in the health professions to prevent and treat FAS. The guide identifies competencies and objectives that can be used to develop a variety of educational programs and materials in a range of formats based on the needs of students or practitioners.

The RTCs are:

• Midwest FAS Regional Training Center (a collaboration among Saint Louis University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and St. Louis Arc)
• Northeast FAS Regional Training Center (based at New Jersey Medical School)
• Southeastern FAS Regional Training Center (a collaboration between Meharry Medical College, Morehouse School Of Medicine and Tennessee State University)
• Western FAS Regional Training Center (based at UCLA)