DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAMS HONORED

WASHINGTON (AP) - In Tarrytown, N.Y., teen-agers learn to how to avoid
drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Denver nurses visit pregnant women at risk of
substance abuse. A Seattle-based program uses dinosaur puppets to help
youngsters with behavior problems.

These projects, cited by the government as among the nation's best hope for
fighting addictions, were honored Thursday by the nation's acting drug
policy director and the Health and Human Services Department.

"The federal seal of approval ... is a message to communities that they
should insist upon and work toward the same level of excellence in
substance abuse prevention," HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said. "As a
nation, we can settle for no less."

The projects, selected after a rigorous scientific review of more than 200
prevention programs, are part of the department's efforts to identify and
disseminate information about science-based prevention programs that
consistently have demonstrated beneficial results.

The programs are chosen because they follow carefully researched treatment
methods and have worked in several settings.

For instance, the Incredible Years Series of Seattle involved more than 600
families. Researchers found that the parents of the children, ages 3-10,
were able to curb the anti-social behavior that often develops into
substance abuse later in life.

Department officials have been rewarding programs for 15 years. But for the
first time last year, officials decided to highlight programs especially
for their potential to work in several communities.

"The adoption of effective drug abuse prevention programs by communities
nationwide will significantly reduce the toll of drug abuse and addiction
on our society, " said Edward H. Jurith, acting director of the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Many of the programs were started with federal research funds, said
officials with HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

"We are proud to honor their efforts and we are inspired by the
life-changing impact that these programs have had on so many communities,
families and individuals," said Ruth Sanchez-Way, who directs prevention
projects for the HHS agency.