Pubdate: Sun, 04 Aug 2002
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Copyright: 2002 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.starnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210
Author: Associated Press

STUDY SAYS DARE, SIMILAR PROGRAMS ARE INEFFECTIVE

WASHINGTON -- The top three programs used by schools to keep students away 
from drugs are either ineffective or haven't been sufficiently tested, new 
research suggests.

In a study published Saturday in Health Education Research, a journal for 
educators, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
say many schools are using popular programs such as DARE, Here's Looking at 
You 2000 and McGruff's Drug Prevention and Child Protection, which haven't 
shown the kind of results that schools should expect, despite years of use.

"It's not a very good use of taxpayer money," said Denise Hallfors, a 
substance abuse prevention researcher at the Pacific Institute for Research 
and Evaluation, a nonprofit group. She was at the University of North 
Carolina when she conducted the research.

The study found that, in spite of a decade of efforts from the federal 
government to promote proven programs, many schools still use "heavily 
marketed curricula that have not been evaluated, have been evaluated 
inadequately or have been shown to be ineffective in reducing substance abuse."

The most popular, DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was created by 
police officers in Los Angeles in 1983 to teach children about the dangers 
of drugs. More than 50,000 officers have been trained nationwide, and the 
program is being implemented in 80 percent of school districts. In response 
to criticism that its program is ineffective, DARE America is conducting a 
five-year study to evaluate a new curriculum.

Charlie Parsons, executive director of DARE America, said the research in 
Hallfors' study refers to DARE's old curriculum, which is no longer used.

He also noted that DARE officers get two weeks of training, unlike many 
other programs, which are run by for-profit organizations.
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MAP posted-by: Beth