Pubdate: Fri, 01 Nov 2002
Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY)
Copyright: 2002 Messenger-Inquirer
Contact:  http://www.messenger-inquirer.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285
Author: Justin Willis
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)

REVAMPED D.A.R.E. RESULTS PROMISING

Local D.A.R.E. police officers said they are pleased to learn of the latest 
study of the anti-drug and alcohol program, which demonstrates promising 
results with children.

Researchers at the Institute for Health and Social Policy at the University 
of Akron studied about 15,500 seventh-graders, some of whom took part in 
the program's updated curriculum and others, in a control group, who 
didn't. They plan to follow the students until their junior years in high 
school.

The researchers found that seventh-graders with the updated program were 
more likely to find using drugs socially inappropriate, were better at 
refusing drugs and had fewer misconceptions about how many of their peers 
use drugs. They were also less likely to say they would use inhalants.

The program has been updated since critics in recent years said the program 
was ineffective in keeping kids away from drugs and alcohol.

The effectiveness of the program has never been a question for Owensboro 
Police Department Officer Eddie Miller, who is in his 13th year as the 
city's D.A.R.E. officer.

Daviess County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Wedding fields questions from Burns 
Elementary School fifth-graders Tuesday during his second lesson discussing 
tobacco awareness for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. Photo by 
John Dunham, M-I

"To know how effective a program is, you have to wait until they're out of 
school and in the adult world," Miller said.

Children who were in Miller's first few classes have graduated from high 
school. He occasionally talks with them when he sees them in the community. 
Many can still remember things they learned in the classes, he said.

D.A.R.E., or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was created by police 
officers in Los Angeles in 1983 to teach fifth-graders about the dangers of 
drugs.

Like any 19-year-old program, the curriculum in schools today must be 
updated and evolve to meet current needs, Miller said.

A study last August by the University of North Carolina found that several 
top anti-drug programs, including the original version of D.A.R.E., were 
either ineffective or hadn't been sufficiently tested.

Other researchers have found that illegal drug use among teenagers has 
remained level or decreased over the past several years, partly because 
adults are warning students about drug use and encouraging kids to nurture 
other interests.

Following those studies, the D.A.R.E. program has tried to update the 
curriculum and teaching style, Miller said.

"I believe that what they've done is that they've taken a good program and 
made it even better," Miller said. "Instead of getting up there and 
lecturing for 45 minutes, it's more of a discussion."

Miller has completed the first phase of the updated training, and two 
deputies with the Daviess County Sheriff's Department plan to learn new 
teaching styles during a conference this summer.

The new D.A.R.E. curriculum will target students not only in fifth grade, 
but also in seventh and ninth grades. Teachers will also help teach 
lessons, unlike the current program, which is taught mostly by police officers.

The benefit of D.A.R.E. is not just teaching children about the dangers of 
drugs and alcohol, said Deputy Scott Wedding, a D.A.R.E. officer. Children 
become comfortable around police officers, and they learn about the 
consequences of drugs from officers who encounter them daily, he said.

"In their lives it's going to be their choice, their decision," Wedding 
said. "All we do is equip them with the tools. At least they are educated 
to all the different consequences of these drugs."

D.A.R.E.'s success depends heavily on dedicated officers, which the city 
and county have, he said.

Deputy Kelly Payne, the department's other D.A.R.E. officer, said she and 
Wedding offer the program at each county elementary and middle school.

Last year the department reached seventh-graders as well, but scheduling 
conflicts required them to cut back to kindergarten through sixth grade, 
she said. She hopes to regain the seventh-graders by next year.

"I hated to lose the seventh-grade programs," Payne said. "We think it's 
really effective."

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The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom