Pubdate: Wed, 06 Feb 2008 Source: Daily Collegian (PA Edu) Copyright: 2008 Collegian Inc. Contact: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/543 Author: Allison Jackovitz Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) JUVENILE CRIME INVESTIGATED Penn State researchers have teamed up to tackle the problem of juvenile crime across the state by using new methods to solve an old problem. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) -- which includes Brian Bumbarger, project director and research associate for Penn State's Prevention Research Center, and Mark Greenberg, the center's director -- invested $60 million to fund crime prevention programs that match the needs of specific communities across the state. "There are a variety of things that put children and families at risk, and because there are different causes, there have to be a variety of approaches as to how we prevent them," Bumbarger said. Through local prevention coalitions made up of members of the community, the PCCD collects data on conditions statistically linked to delinquency based upon in-school surveys, Bumbarger said. With this data, a profile about the most common risk factors is made, which is used to select a specific program, he said. "It's probably very different what's causing violence in a community in Philadelphia than in a community in State College. It depends on environment and school structures," Bumbarger said. "Different programs approach the prevention in different ways, and that's part of why it's so effective." Programs implemented by the PCCD include teaching skills like resisting peer pressure, problem solving, family strengthening and bullying reduction, Bumbarger said. Bumbarger explained that while every community is trying to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency and drug use, most of what is being done is not grounded in good research and not necessarily proven to work. Prevention programs like D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and Just Say No, he said, are based on the naivete of teens rather than a sound theory. "The D.A.R.E. program tries to prevent drug use by telling children the harmful health and legal effects of drug use," he said. "For that approach to work, it would have to mean that the reason kids use drugs is because they don't know that drugs are illegal or bad for them." Bumbarger said the PCCD's programs have been successful because of community involvement and the research behind the programs. "We're actually teaching skills to deal with problems," he said. "Our programs don't just tell them to say no; they teach teens how to say no." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake