Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jan 2003
Source: The Southeast Missourian (MO)
Copyright: 2003, Southeast Missourian
Contact: http://www.semissourian.com/opinion/speakout/submit/
Website: http://www.semissourian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1322
Author: Mike Wells

DARE OFFICER TURNS FUND-RAISER AS PROGRAM SUFFERS CUTBACKS

When the Cape Girardeau patrolman Jeff Bonham learned the Missouri State 
Highway Patrol would no longer supply materials to the city's Drug and 
Alcohol Resistance Education, or DARE, program, he put out a call for backup.

"I had no idea there would be a cut on our supplies," he said. "My first 
reaction was to go out and seek donations."

His plea was answered by a $2,000 donation from Drury Hotels earlier this 
month. When Bonham approached the company, the owners immediately stepped 
up, said Eric Strand, vice president of sales and marketing.

"The Drury family feels it was the right thing to do and wanted to support 
it," he said. "We appreciate the work the officers are doing in the schools 
and felt it was important to give something back."

For the last 12 years, the patrol supplied study materials, including 
student workbooks, pencils and certificates, to about 260 Missouri law 
enforcement agencies. But in the fall, it announced the expense was cut, 
said Lt. Ed Moses, DARE administrator.

"Next year, unless we get some legislative approval, we can't have any 
money to provide workbooks," he said. "And starting in January, those 
departments will have to pay for our two-week DARE officer training courses 
themselves, too, at a cost of about $500 an officer."

Initially, the patrol paid for DARE supplies in combination with a grant 
beginning in 1989 at a cost of $840,000, Moses said. The amount budgeted 
for DARE has gradually declined since, and for the last four years the 
patrol has provided the materials without the aid of any grants. For 2002, 
the patrol budgeted about $200,000 for DARE.

Moses is hopeful that at least one legislator will sponsor a bill 
introduced by the patrol, asking for $300,000 to fund DARE expenses and 
training for drug recognition experts in schools. But he's also trying to 
be realistic.

"This is not the year to be asking for money," he said.

This has been Bonham's first year teaching the course. He has more than 600 
students, including all sixth-graders at Cape Girardeau public schools, St. 
Vincent's Junior High, St. Mary's Parish Center, and Trinity Lutheran, and 
all the fifth-graders at Nell Holcomb School. He is also the school 
resource officer for the city's public elementary schools.

"When I get in the classrooms, I'm real enthusiastic," he said. "You've got 
to make it fun, so the kids will pay attention and learn the material. DARE 
is not going to keep some kids off drugs, but it does teach them how to 
resist drugs."

Finding out the program was about to take a significant blow added the role 
of fund-raiser to Bonham's responsibilities. On Tuesday, he opened the 
boxes containing his last shipment of workbooks and pencils from the 
patrol. Bonham has enough of them to last for the next semester, but after 
that he must restock.

"Basically, the DARE program is now run from community support and 
donations," he said.

The $2,000 donation from Drury Hotels will cover the next school year's 
study supplies, but it won't take care of other expenses related to the 
program, including officer training, activities, T-shirts and graduation 
gift items for the children. Bonham is still seeking more assistance from 
individuals and businesses.

Jackson patrolman Jeff Woodard is also seeking assistance for his city's 
DARE program, taught to more than 340 sixth-graders.

"We need money for advanced training for school resource officers, and of 
course, for materials for DARE," Woodard said.

Program's Beginnings

Cape Girardeau began teaching DARE in 1991, but the program originated in 
1987 in Los Angeles. It focuses on issues of self-esteem, communication 
skills, decision making and positive alternatives to drug abuse.

Recent criticism concerning the effectiveness of the DARE program may have 
given the patrol some reason to make the cuts, Moses said, or at least to 
reconsider the program's design.

"I think that was part of the influence," he said. "There are three groups 
who have criticized it: the legalizers, who want drugs to be available to 
everyone, the greedy providers, who want to compete with DARE and sell 
their own anti-drug programs, and some honest and intelligent people who 
have found areas needing improvement."

Moses said while there may have been some areas of DARE that weren't as 
strong as they needed to be, including tobacco issues and parent 
information, improvements were made and the program is being streamlined by 
the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation from 17 to 10 weeks. Some St. Louis 
schools are part of a pilot program with the new DARE curriculum.

Despite the patrol's budget cuts, Cape Girardeau police have no plans to 
discontinue teaching it, said Capt. Carl Kinnison.

"Everyone here believes it is an effective program and that it is the best 
way for our officers to interact with the kids," Kinnison said. "We would 
have included it in the next budget and pursued it. Thankfully, the 
donation from Drury Hotels allows us to continue with the program and to 
purchase other items to make it more effective."
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