Pubdate: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Section: Metro Copyright: 2003, The Tribune Co. Contact: http://tampatrib.com/opinion/lettertotheeditor.htm Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446 Note: Limit LTEs to 150 words Author: Sherri Ackerman of the Tribune ANTIDRUG ALLIANCE TAPS RESEARCH Grant Allows Survey of Specific Problems TAMPA - In Ybor City, it's underage drinking. The University of South Florida area is plagued by illegal drugs. In Brandon, it's a burgeoning crime rate. The Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance hopes to zero in on those problems and others inherent in particular communities through a national program being touted by the wife of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Communities That Care uses research, surveys and analysis to help communities find solutions. The system was developed by two University of Washington professors and is marketed by Channing Bete Co. of Massachusetts. Consultants travel the country to train established organizations with methods proven to reduce teen pregnancy, youth smoking and other issues that hurt communities, Michele Ridge said Monday during a visit to Tampa. When her husband became governor of Pennsylvania in 1995, she supported the program throughout the state - which, like Florida, has extensive rural and elderly populations as well as large cities. Today, she is a spokeswoman for Communities That Care. The first step is to organize a committee and enlist members, who spend about four to five months in intensive training sessions that result in surveys specific to their community. Channing Bete analyzes results, then designs a program based on successful public health models, Ridge said. The program "allows you to [home] in on what your real priorities are and what real funding sources are available," she said. "And it develops leadership skills in your community." The company points to achievements in communities such as LaCrosse, Wis., where the juvenile delinquency rate declined 8 percent and child protective services referrals fell 10 percent in 1996. To start the effort in Hillsborough, the Florida Office of Drug Control awarded the local antidrug alliance about $15,000 in grant money, announced this week. James McDonough, the state drug control director, said at an open house at the Drug Abuse Comprehensive Coordinating Office in Tampa that the alliance and 50 coalitions statewide have had an impact. Since 1999, when his office began tracking teen violence and other crimes, Florida has seen a decline in underage drinking as well as drug abuse and smoking by youths, McDonough said. The Hillsborough alliance also received a $25,000 grant last month from a pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma, that makes the addictive painkiller OxyContin. The alliance provides similar guidance to law enforcement, substance abuse treatment providers and others, but it has acted more as a sounding board and advocacy group. "We don't have the expertise [Channing Bete] has with surveys and research," longtime alliance member Sue Carrigan said. "How do you know where to start?" Kay Doughty, director of DACCO's family center and substance abuse services, heads the new alliance committee. Anyone interested in participating can call her at (813) 980-3866. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager