A TIME FOR CHANGE: DRUG, ALCOHOL SURVEY SHOW NEED FOR COMMUNITY
INTERVENTION

CADILLAC - Half the seniors in Cadillac High School said they drank
alcohol in the last month. Of those Cadillac seniors who completed
the survey, 32 percent admitted to using marijuana.

Danette Crozier wasn't surprised by the results, but she hopes
members of the community are.

Prior to becoming a counselor and Safe and Drug Free Schools
coordinator for Cadillac Area Public Schools, Crozier used to work
at a prevention and treatment center. She has a degree in substance
abuse prevention/intervention and treatment. That's why when the
results of a recent drug survey came out showing a majority of CAPS
junior high and high school students had at least tried alcohol and
drugs, she wasn't surprised.

"What surprised me the most about the survey was that I wasn't
surprised. The data the survey results showed is very consistent
with every high school in the United States," she said. "The hope is
that we embrace the problem as a community. It's not just a CAPS
problem. It's a Cadillac community problem."

WHAT IT SHOWED

The rise in marijuana and binge drinking were the two areas that
were the most discouraging on survey, according to CAPS
Superintendent Paul Liabenow.

Liabenow said he would support an initiative that would help to
reduce consumption but right now he said he does not know of one
that has led to success. The district, however, is still looking.

"I was more discouraged to see the numbers are increasing and that
leads me to believe we need to try different approaches. If what we
are doing today is not working, we need to try new ones," Liabenow said.

The statistics in this survey should open eyes, Crozier said. In her
opinion, it should do so because about 30 percent of last year's
senior class reported drinking at home and their parents were aware
of what they were doing.

"I understand that some parents are thinking, 'at least they are
safe' but adolescents cannot distinguish drinking at home with their
parents or at a friend's house," she said. "It's a mixed message.
The message to send to teens is it's illegal, harmful and won't be tolerated."

Liabenow also said that it is important for people to know that good
kids sometimes make bad choices and are entitled to support.
Likewise, he said the district and community need parent support to
curb alcohol and drug use.

"More regular supervision is necessary. As a parent of four I know
that it is easier said than done," Liabenow said. "Together,
though, I am confident that we can make a difference for our youth."

WHAT OTHER DISTRICTS ARE DOING

Other schools within the area also are concerned about the use of
drugs and alcohol by students.

McBain Rural Agricultural School Superintendent Daniel Bachman said
the district did not give its students a survey but results of
Cadillac's survey were not surprising to him either. That being
said, he also said accuracy of surveys such as the one done by
Cadillac should be taken into consideration.

"Sometimes, I wonder about the accuracy of the survey. It is
dependant on how seriously the students take it," he said. "We know
it (drugs and alcohol) is an issue. We hear about it all the time. I
think it is good special attention is given to the problem."

Other districts such as Mesick Consolidated Schools, Cadillac
Heritage Christian, Evart Public Schools and Reed City Area Public
Schools also did not distribute a drugs and alcohol survey. Some of
the reasons for not giving the survey included various
programs/speakers already in place as well as size of the school.

Although it is currently not giving surveys to its students, Reed
City Superintendent Steven Westhoff said giving one would be worthwhile.

"Substance abuse is an issue and it already exists in Reed City. I
don't know the degree but I assume it changes from year to year,"
Westhoff said.

Lake City Area Schools, however, is in the process of giving two
surveys to its students.

The first survey focuses on violence and was given to students in
grades four through 12 while the second survey focuses on drugs and
alcohol and was given to students in grades six through 12,
according to Lake City Curriculum Director Carol Thola.

"We are trying to get a baseline. It will help us assess and see
what programs are needed and let us know how effective our current
programs are," Thola said.

Thola said the upper elementary, junior high and high schools are
all individually administering the surveys. Complete results will
not be available until closer to the end of the year.

SEEING THE RESULTS

Although Crozier and Liabenow shared the results of the survey with
the community at a Lunch and Learn program at the Department of
Human Services Friday, if a person is interested in seeing the
results they are welcome to go to CAPS Central Office, 421 S.
Mitchell St., to see them.

Your local connection

HOW TO START A CONVERSATION AND HOW TO TALK TO YOUR TEENS:

- - Keep your best motives in mind: Before talking to your teenager
about drugs, pause for a moment and ask the focusing question: What
do I really want? This pause can help you get your motives in check
and move from simply "keeping the peace" through silence to being a
powerful influence on your teen.

- - Confront with facts, not judgments: When you present the facts,
you obligate your teen to respond to the information. When you use
judgments or accusatory language, it appears you intend simply to
humiliate or punish, and your teen feels no obligation to engage in
the conversation.

- - Make it feel safe: State what you don't intend and what you do
intend: "I want to reassure you that I have no desire to make your
decisions for you, or to cut you off from having a happy life. I
want to be supportive of you, and I want to influence choices
you might make that I believe will hurt you."

- - Make it feel safe: Be flexible about the time of the talk, but not
about whether you talk. Control is a huge issue for teens. Sometimes
parents provoke an unnecessary confrontation by demanding that
conversations be on their terms and their time frame. It's best to
try to engage your child in dialogue by respecting their preferences
about when to talk.

- - Make it feel safe: Create a "safety reserve" by creating safety
even when there are no problems. Communicating respect, praising
small positive signs, "catching" them when they're being good, and
showing an interest in your teen's life will help him or her feel
much safer talking to you when problems emerge.

- - Discuss, agree on and stick with boundaries: If you talk about
rules around curfews, choice of friends, and your expectations of
knowing where your teen is before he or she is tempted to make bad
choices, it is much easier to enforce them later. Then when
boundaries are violated, hold your teen accountable consistently. If
it's a boundary, it should always be a boundary.

- - Evaluate the dialogue: You're aiming for a two-way, face-to-face
conversation that gives your teen room to disagree with you and
communicate a different point-of-view. After the conversation, ask
yourself who did most of the talking. If your teen didn't do at
least 25 percent of it, you didn't ask enough questions - or didn't
create enough safety to allow your teen to participate fully.

- - The most important thing to remember when it comes to talking
about difficult subjects like drinking and drugs: It's not a
five-minute "talk" - it's about building an ongoing dialogue.

Source: theantidrug.com

What people can do:

- - First and foremost, parents need to communicate with their children.

- - Mentor a students/teen.

- - Support local prevention and treatment programs.

- - Stay educated on the topic.

Source: Danette Crozier, CAPS counselor and Safe and Drug Free
Schools Coordinator.

Student use in the last month:

- - 50 percent of high school seniors (class of 2006) reported
drinking in the past month.

- - 35 percent of seniors (class of 2006) reported getting drunk while
only 5 percent of eighth-graders and 10 percent of sophomores
reported getting drunk.

- - 32 percent of seniors reported recent marijuana use - 12 percent
higher than the national average.

Marijuana trends:

- - The number of students using marijuana is increasing. Nearly as
many students report using marijuana as cigarettes.

- - Students report that getting marijuana is easy or fairly easy to get.

Source: American Drug and Alcohol Survey results for Cadillac Area
Public Schools.