DARE PROGRAM ENJOYS POPULARITY

Richmond County sheriff's Deputy Eva Cooper says anyone who believes
the drug-prevention program DARE doesn't work needs to attend a school
board or PTA meeting with her.

"We have so many schools that want the DARE program, and we can't put
them into every school because of the manpower," she said.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is a police-taught class
that warns pupils of the dangers of drugs and teaches them how to
avoid those dangers.

Richmond and Columbia counties' sheriff's departments have DARE
officers who teach classes of fifth-graders in each of the two
counties' elementary schools.

DARE was one of several programs cited recently by a North Carolina
researcher who said 11 states are using drug prevention methods in
schools that have not been proven effective through scientific study.

The research was conducted by Denis Hallfors, research associate
professor of maternal and child health at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ms. Hallfors' research was financed by the Substance Abuse Policy
Research Foundation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

While Georgia was not included in the study of drug prevention
programs, 81 school districts were surveyed in Arkansas, California,
Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, South
Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.

A separate study of North Carolina schools included 101 of the state's
117 school districts. The report said in 95 percent of those
districts, DARE was used.

The DARE program was under scrutiny last year when a University of
Kentucky study determined that its curriculum had no effect on whether
pupils used drugs, alcohol or cigarettes.

But despite the studies, Deputy Cooper and Columbia County sheriff's
Capt. Steve Morris said DARE is an effective tool to reach young
people before drugs do.

"Studies are certainly worthwhile and should be investigated to
determine validity. But speaking from a local level, it (DARE) is a
program the school system and we support and parents request," Capt.
Morris said.

Richmond County officers receive feedback about the program's
effectiveness from graduates who attend the sheriff's department's
summer youth camp, Deputy Cooper said.

Many former DARE pupils return as volunteer counselors at the summer
camp.

"It's such a positive influence on our youth," Deputy Cooper
said.

The Richmond County school officials say DARE, along with two other
drug-prevention programs, adds something positive to pupils' lives,
said Donnie Porter, public information officer for the county school
board.

"Our administrators agree that the effectiveness of the DARE program
is difficult to measure, but the general consensus is that it's good
to let our students know that illegal drug use is in no one's best
interest -- especially their own," Mr. Porter said.

The only negative about DARE locally is the lack of resources and
manpower for following up with pupils in middle and high school, Capt.
Morris said.

The semester-long, three-day-a-week classes are offered in every
Columbia County elementary school each school year, Capt. Morris said.

Deputy Cooper said she wishes Richmond County had enough DARE officers
to cover all the schools in a year.

Richmond County has two deputies assigned to DARE, so only three of
the county's 32 elementary schools have the class per semester, Deputy
Cooper said.

"I'm not saying that if another program comes along that is just as
effective that we won't look at it. But at this time, DARE is the best
thing we've got going through the state," she said.