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'JUST SAY NO' TO D.A.R.E.

Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio ( R-Sterling ) isn't alone when he says the national D.A.R.E.  program is a waste of money.  In fact, those who think the program isn't effective are growing in numbers and some police departments across the country are dropping the program that began in Los Angeles in 1983.

However, locally, Loudoun Sheriff Stephen O.  Simpson said D.A.R.E., or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a program "near and dear to his heart" and he would fight every day to keep it intact.  The school system also said the program has positive results in Loudoun County.

"For every Web site you find that says D.A.R.E.  doesn't work you can find one that says D.A.R.E.  does work," Simpson said.  "I personally have had hundreds and hundreds of parents over the years as we go speak at these D.A.R.E.  graduations tell us how much of an impact it had on their families."

In a stack of documents Delgaudio gave to those in attendance for the board of supervisor's first budget meeting last week, most of the materials were copied from the organization led by his Republican colleague, Supervisor Lori Waters ( Broad Run ), who is executive director of the Eagle Forum.

Last week, Waters said some D.A.R.E.  programs work and some don't, but that Loudoun's program needs an assessment to gauge any benefits to students.  According to the Eagle Forum's Web site, it appears the organization supports deleting the program from local budgets nationwide.

There have been studies out of Chicago, Kentucky and Colorado by the federal government that state there have been little or no effective results from the program.

In Loudoun, there are 3,400 fifth grade students who are taught the program.  In the FY 2005 budget, the D.A.R.E.  program cost $56,000 for operations and $443,000 for six full-time deputies who teach the program.  There are 39 schools in which D.A.R.E.  is taught.  Simpson said it would be impossible to implement a suggestion by Waters to combine D.A.R.E.  officers with school resource officers because the departments provide different functions.

"I guess maybe they don't understand it," Simpson ( R ) said about the two Republican supervisors.  "They are the only ones that opposed it.  Delgaudio's kids go to private school and [Waters] doesn't have any kids.  Maybe they don't have a vested interest in the process so they are looking at ways of saving money and maybe they see this as a way of saving money."

Neither Delgaudio nor Waters returned phone calls or e-mails this week to comment on this report.

A study of Loudoun schools completed this year showed that students have a lower perceived risk of drug use than their national peers, meaning Loudoun students are more likely to see drug use as a risky behavior.  It's an indicator that some could say proves the D.A.R.E.  program is working in Loudoun County.

"Certainly one of the benefits is that [D.A.R.E.  officers] are able to describe to students some realistic situations which help [students] with some refusal skills," said LCPS Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Sharon Ackerman.  "They also can talk to them about making good choices in their lives.  They are really the best ones to do this."

Another benefit of D.A.R.E., Ackerman said, is that students see police officers and deputies in a positive light, showing human qualities that they may not otherwise see when law enforcement officers are in the field.  Ackerman said the school system has investigated the program's objectives and, where it overlapped with other curriculum, such as material taught in health courses, the school system reduced the number of lessons.  She also said that the course evaluations returned to D.A.R.E.  officers at the end of the year are "very positive."

"So it really is the best fit for us," she said.  "We know there's been various research out there.  You can find studies that say it is effective and you can find studies that say it's not.  And you would never know unless you had a way to look at the same kid and say 'What would you have done if we did not have this intervention.'"

However, in a suburb south of Chicago, IL, of about 15,000 residents, the police chief of Chicago Ridge deleted the program--one of the first actions he took when hired three years ago.  Chicago Ridge Police Chief Tim Balderman said his jurisdiction was one of the first communities to delete the program.  He said one of the reasons he believed the program was ineffective was because he did not see a decrease in drug arrests among school aged children.  The program was more about "selling T-shirts and softballs and using the slogan 'Just Say No,'" rather than penetrating more serious issues that affect students in any particular community, he said.  Huntington Beach, CA, has also dropped the program.

"It really doesn't make any sense," Balderman said about the program.  "D.A.R.E.  has a set formula and they give you the book and you have to follow it whether you are in a very affluent community or a very poor community.  Whether your community is faced with one particular problem or another, you've got to follow this book to the letter and it doesn't make any sense.  It's just ridiculous."

Balderman said Chicago Ridge has a large Arab population and has the highest percentage of multi-family dwellings in Cooke County, IL, with nearly 70 percent.  With 1,400 students in grades K-8, Balderman said there are 17 different languages spoken.  D.A.R.E.  did not prove to be effective for the diverse student body.

"It wasn't about the money," he said.  "It was about effectiveness and about providing something for our community and D.A.R.E.  didn't do it." Balderman said he started new programs, like Character Counts, that he believes will be more beneficial for students.  "We discuss everything under the sun, not just what D.A.R.E.  is telling us."

"I've talked to a lot of chiefs," Balderman said.  "They know D.A.R.E.  is not working but they feel it would be a public relations nightmare if they dropped it.  I'll take the heat if that's what I've got to do."

Supervisor Jim Burton ( I-Blue Ridge ) said the D.A.R.E.  program should be left alone.  He said there really is not a way to gauge if D.A.R.E.  is working, calling it an "undecidable question."

"I think anything you do in that area is good," he said.  "I don't put much stock in scientific studies that say it did or did not prevent [drug use] because you just don't know.  Any program that shows a presence and brings the subject up in front of the kids is a good thing."