Pubdate: Sat, 01 Feb 2003 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 2003 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82 DARE AMERICA AT 20 DARE America, the nation's largest in-school drug awareness program, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with its image and reputation in deep jeopardy. Born out of a partnership between the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. schools, Drug Abuse Resistance Education has suffered tough times recently. State and local governments facing tight budgets have cut DARE programs. Studies by the U.S. surgeon general, the General Accounting Office and others have questioned DARE's effectiveness. Illinois DARE officials predict that half of the state's schools that now offer the program will drop it by the end of this year. Skokie, Chicago Ridge and Peoria police have dropped it and others are considering similar moves. Chicago Ridge Police Chief Tim Balderman told a Tribune reporter that, after 13 years of DARE, his department actually saw an increase in drug arrests, "all DARE graduates." In DARE's defense, national spokesman Ralph Lochridge responds that the critical studies were either too limited or, in some cases, were biased against DARE's methods. The organization points to more favorable assessments, such as a 2001 survey of Illinois DARE by an Ohio State University professor. That study found that 86 percent of school principals thought DARE made students less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs. A comprehensive University of Akron study is following more than 20,000 students in various cities for five years to compare students who participate in DARE and those who don't. Drawing on the first two years of research, the study's director, Dr. Zili Sloboda, observes that students who have come through DARE are measurably better informed that drugs are not nearly as popular or commonly used as their non-DARE peers think they are. It should surprise no one that the initial research also shows the short-term benefits of teaching drug awareness and avoidance to children in lower school grades is lost later if it is not reinforced by effective follow-up programs. Particularly critical are the early teen years. If parents and local school districts invest all of their efforts in DARE's program for 5th graders, then let the efforts lapse by the time the youngsters get to high school, they should not be surprised when the anti-drug message does not stick. DARE survives largely because so many dedicated police officers and others who work with students believe in it. Local autonomy is good when it helps DARE to adjust to local circumstances. Unfortunately, an organization as big and varied as DARE can find that its effectiveness is burdened by inconsistent use of the program. As DARE America enters its third decade, it faces the challenge of taking what it has learned in its most outstanding local programs and applying those lessons nationally. Then it can narrow the gap between local chapters that appear to be producing results and those that are not. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart