Index for the D.A.R.E. FAILING OUR KIDS series:

Sun, 27 Feb 2000:

D.A.R.E. Doesn't Work
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a04.html

DARE Wary Of Outside Reviews
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a02.html

Some Schools Opt Out Of Program
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n282/a04.html

Officers Become School Favorites
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a06.html

Officers Hope To Make A Difference
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a02.html

Analysis Tracks Students' Drug Use
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a03.html

Mon, 28 Feb 2000:

DARE's Clout Smothers Other Drug Programs
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a04.html

Raves Thrive As Teen Drug Havens
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a04.html

Parents Struggle When Discussing Drugs With Teens
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a05.html

Tips For Parents
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a03.html

Parents' Anti-Drug Resource Guide [many website links]
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a02.html

Tue, 29 Feb 2000:

Editorial: Drugs: Dare to be Honest
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a05.html

Readers: Cops Key to DARE Success, Failure
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a06.html

DARE'S CLOUT SMOTHERS OTHER DRUG PROGRAMS

But Critics Say Other Efforts At Prevention May Be No
Better

Proponents of alternative drug prevention programs hope to crack
DARE's emotional and financial grip on parents, police and educators.

Some promise their programs will dissuade teen-agers from trying drugs
and alcohol. But it's not always easy to get into schools with limited
funding, because DARE is well-funded, well-organized, well-liked and
firmly entrenched.

And some experts warn of a cozy relationship between prevention
program creators, evaluators and those who stand to make money by
selling programs. They say millions are spent every year on programs
that may work no better than DARE, an acronym for Drug and Alcohol
Resistance Education.

According to a Detroit News analysis of 33 Metro area school
districts, there is no difference between teen drug and alcohol use in
districts that offered DARE and in districts that did not. DARE is
used in 70 of the 88 Metro districts.

Those who encourage development of other prevention programs say DARE
is ineffective and dangerous, because parents, police and educators
may mistakenly believe it will prevent their children from doing drugs.

Many of the newer programs -- even those deemed promising by the
National Institutes of Health, such as Life Skills and Project STAR --
closely resemble DARE, researchers say.

"When you really look at the curriculum, a lot of these programs are
really very similar," said Luanne Rohrbach, one of the original
researchers on SMART -- the precursor to DARE -- at the University of
Southern California.

"The research community is actually fairly small, and we share ideas
with each other."

But if DARE doesn't reduce drug use, why do other programs show
promise?

The problem with DARE may not be the message, Rohrbach said, but
rather the people who teach it: police officers. Having a strong
authority figure talk about drugs may encourage kids to tell the
officer what they think he wants to hear, rather than reach a decision
themselves.

"The programs that are showing promise use small groups, the Socratic
method: Clarify misinformation, but never tell kids what the right answer
is," she said.

"That takes skill and a special person. Even with the best training, an
officer is probably not the best because of the authority they have."

Rohrbach said DARE has been asked to experiment: Compare short- and
long-term results when an officer and a teacher use the DARE program in
similar classes. But DARE officials have refused, she said.

Others question the police-only policy.

"There's a lot of money being made (in DARE) at a higher level for
trademarked information," said Steven Chung, Sumpter Township Police Commander.

"If you have the paraprofessionals and more people allowed to teach it, it
would be more successful."

Officers Lend Credibility

But having DARE taught by a police officer is "the magic that brings it to
life," said Glenn Levant, DARE America director.

"It would be difficult to find a teacher credible on the subject of
substance abuse. The kids know more than the staff. You can't just show
them a video."

DARE supporters say the program has other benefits, including improving
kids' self-esteem. Rohrbach says there's no evidence of that. Instead, it
may be the confidence kids get when they give the answer the instructor
wants to hear.

"They may observe that, but that doesn't mean it's true," Rohrbach said.
"Self-esteem is really hard to measure, and there's no study I know that
shows that."

While Rohrbach and others are optimistic that there is a new generation of
programs that may work, others aren't so sure, saying they may turn out to
be just as ineffective.

"The larger issue is, why do we have so many large-scale programs, and the
educational community has so little to do with it?" said Joel Brown,
director of the Center for Education Research and Development in Berkley,
Calif.

"Our research was born of us being tired of all the calls from parents
asking us, 'What works?' We had no answers. But we're not trying to sell
anything."

In a study he plans to publish later this year, Brown said the
effectiveness of many popular new programs should be questioned.

For example, one program's self evaluation changed methodology midstream
and dropped 40 percent of the test sample -- yet no one has challenged the
researcher's conclusion that the program is effective, he said.

It's the one area Levant agrees: "(Several programs) are evaluated by the
owner and the author of the program," he said. "That smacks of conflict of
interest to me."

Zero Use vs. Responsibility

The other problem, some researchers say, is that most grant money is
earmarked for zero use programs, such as DARE. Little is available for
programs that emphasize responsible use, which advocates no use, but
emphasizes consequences and warning signs.

It's a familiar message when it comes to alcohol: Don't drink and drive,
use a designated driver, know the symptoms of alcohol poisoning. Or the
safe sex messages: Abstain, but if you don't, use a condom.

But that's a politically tough message to sell, when you're talking about
teen-agers and drugs.

Nearly a decade ago, congressional researchers called for more so-called
responsible use programs.

"There is no evidence that the no-use approach is more successful than
alternative approaches, or even successful in its own right," said a
Government Accounting Office report.

"The long-range objective of reducing drug use will be better served... by
considering a wider range of possible approaches."

The GAO has not done a similar evaluation since, in part because the
responsible use idea created an uproar in Congress.

Another common drug policy feature that makes educators and researchers
bristle is zero tolerance -- an offshoot of zero use. Zero tolerance means
a student caught in virtually any alcohol or drug offense can be kicked out
of school or prosecuted.

"Zero tolerance stands for zero intelligence," said Bill MacFarland,
Crestwood schools assistant superintendent in Dearborn Heights.

"Kids need to know there are consequences for misbehavior, but we have to
operate from a standpoint of forgiveness and redemption. Easy answers
should always make you question the person giving them."

Giving Kids Things To Do

In the meantime, some schools say they have had some success with
distraction programs -- making sure kids have things to do, especially
high-energy, risk-taking activities, such as organized travel, skiing or
skateboarding.

"You need to offer other options," said Dearborn Heights DARE officer Ed
Garcia. "Whether it's a sports program or an intramural program, it needs
to include more than just the police."

Parents say they have had some luck taking an active role -- almost a new
twist on responsible use: Kids may experiment with drugs or alcohol, but an
active parent network can help limit the damage.

As members of the Clarkston Community Task Force for Youth, for example,
parents, kids, business leaders and others in the community talk monthly
about ways to get kids active in the community -- even have rave
alternative parties -- and limit the draw of drugs.

"We have a strong no use message," task force coordinator Cindy Dixon said.
"But a lot of parents want to tell kids to straighten up and quit doing
drugs. Kids block that out."

"Were aiming for relationships... and we're in it for the long haul.

Other parents agreed.

"It's really up to the parents to do their part," said Detroit parent
Jennette Williams, 23.