Rural, remote and North of 51 service provision and substance abuse related special needs in British Columbia's hinterlands / Sarah de Leeuw, Jo-Anne Fiske, Margo Greenwood. [electronic resource] :

"This report, resulting from focus group research and key informant interviews with service providers in four rural northwestern British Columbia communities, highlights the challenges and barriers for those who work with children and youth who live with a variety of special needs, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effect (FAE). In addition to documenting and discussing the challenges associated with providing services to children and youth with special needs in rural or remote settings, the report outlines a variety of locally developed solutions and responses to the realities present in more isolated settings.

The findings of the report focus on four themes: diagnostic limitations, funding concerns, overwhelming community health issues, and geographic and cultural barriers. Each of theses themes are discussed in relation to the ability (and perceived ability) of providing meaningful and sustained services to children and youth with special needs in northern communities. The report culminates in six recommendations, each of which is derived directly from the community-based research that was the foundation of the report." --p. 4.