FEW TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SERVICE DRUG TESTING PROGRAM AVAILABLE TO FAMILIES

Getting a teen drug screening program up and running at the Beaches has
been a slow go. But the people behind the effort are not discouraged, and
at least one parent is convinced of the merits of the voluntary program.

The drug screening program, initiated by the Beaches Resource Center, has
been available to families residing in Duval County east of the
Intracoastal Waterway since the first of the year. It was started to give
parents an easy, inexpensive and convenient way to screen their adolescent
children for drug use, but few have taken advantage of the service during
the first two months of operation.

"Since its inception, we've only had 10 or 11 {teens}," said Bert Russell,
health center administrator at the Beaches Family Health Center, which acts
as a urine collection site for the resource center drug screening program.

However, a parent who has used the service says it is an important tool to
help parents monitor their youngsters who may be experimenting with drugs.

Parents who know or suspect their child has a problem with drug usage or
whose child has experimented with drugs should take advantage of the drug
testing program offered by the Beaches Resource Center, said the parent
whose adolescent tried drugs in middle school.

"The first step is experimentation," said the vigilant parent who has used
the new drug testing service available through the resource center at
Fletcher High School to monitor the teen since the incident. "I found it
was convenient, easy and confidential. It allows me a method of keeping
check on my child." The parent asked to remain anonymous to protect the
confidentiality guaranteed to the students by the program.

Participation is voluntary

Participation in the program is purely voluntary, although teachers or
other professionals may alert parents to a problem and refer them to the
resource center.

The results are kept confidential and sent back to the resource center.
Teens who test positive may voluntarily attend a free drug-education group
at the resource center after school once a week. Referrals are also made to
appropriate agencies for help with the substance abuse problem.

The nearly 3-month-old drug screening service is the brainchild of Penny
Christian, Beaches Resource Center project coordinator. There are no other
programs like it available through other resource centers in the county.

"This is ours, and it's gotten a lot of attention," Christian said.
Resource center programs are supposed to reflect the needs of the
community, and the drug issue "is critical at the beach," she said.

Christian realized there was no convenient way for parents at the Beaches
to have their youngsters tested for suspected drug use and get counseling
for them if there proved to be a problem. Many parents did not have the
time or means to take their child to downtown Jacksonville for screening.

The purpose of the resource center is to provide easy access to
educational, medical, social and human services for students and their
families within the ZIP code area served by 10 Duval County public schools
east of the Intracoastal Waterway. So Christian called together a number of
social service organizations and found a way to bring drug screening to the
Beaches.

The Beaches Family Health Center acts as a collection center and sends the
specimens to Gateway Community Services in Jacksonville.

"We have a very limited laboratory here, so we couldn't run the test
itself," Russell said. "However, in order to provide a community service,
we could be a urine collection site."

Gateway's help

Gateway Community Services, treatment programs for alcoholism and other
drug abuse, readily agreed to analyze urine specimens at its laboratory.
The results are sent back to the resource center, where a counselor makes
recommendations about what private and public resources are available if
the child tests positive.

"National statistics state that drug use among teenagers is on the rise,"
said Candace Hodgkins, a professional mental health counselor licensee and
program administrator for Gateway's TPC Village, a residential program.

"I would say there is a strong need for a program at the beach as well as
other areas elsewhere around Jacksonville. There are some serious addicted
children out there. That impacts their school life, their social life and
their family life."

Adolescents are not willing to be in treatment unless there is some sort of
leverage used like the court system telling the youngster to attend the
classes, which is why it has been difficult to get the program going,
Hodgkins said.

"It's very new, and so we're not surprised nor are we discouraged," she
said. "Even if there's one child that gets helped from us being there,
that's really enough in our book."

A 1997 report commissioned by Duval County Public Schools, "Duval Alcohol,
Tobacco, Other Drugs and Violence Survey: Knowledge, Attitudes and
Behaviors," stated that out of 2349 Beaches area students who have ever
used drugs or alcohol at some time: 52.7 percent have used alcohol, 26.5
percent have used marijuana, 9.7 percent have used LSD, 7.2 percent have
used amphetamines, 5.4 percent have used narcotics and 4.6 percent have
used cocaine, to name a few substances on the list.

After-school programs

Gateway also runs two after-school programs at the resource center -- a
substance abuse education and intervention group and a 12-step teen
alcoholics anonymous group. Attendance is voluntary at either group. And
that is one of the reasons the program is having trouble getting off the
ground.

"I said build it and they will come," Christian said. "I had visions of all
these people beating the door down for this wonderful service. The first
night there were two, the second -- four, then down to one."

"We are just the vehicle for giving {the students} the opportunity to have
this group," Christian said. "Because we are not putting it on the parent,
in some ways it's good because those that do come are taking 100 percent
responsibility for their behavior."

The substance abuse group, held every Thursday from 2:30 to 4 p.m., is open
to referred teens 14 to 17 years old.

"We do some basic education as far as the disease concept of addiction,
information about drugs and how it affects the body, the side effects,"
said Steve Bauer, team leader of the substance abuse group. "Then we talk
about how those things have affected them and some of the consequences
they've suffered in their life."

Some teens go to the substance abuse group and the teen Alcoholics
Anonymous group, held every Wednesday from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Team leader
Debbie Stevens facilitates the group, which the teens run as regular AA
meetings. The resource center AA group began in January, but teens in
Stevens' TPC Village group have been sober for as long as eight or nine
months, she said.

"They run the discussions; it's usually how to stay sober today," Steven
said. "They celebrate the length of sobriety in these meetings."

Not all teens test positive for drugs, in which case there may be other
issues to resolve. The resource center is prepared to help those parents
and students too.

"I noticed several things," Christian said. "Parents would bring the
student in with the intent of testing. The {suspicion of drug use} had been
like a wall. Once the wall was brought down these things would come out."

"Say it does come back negative, and there is a wonderful sense of relief.
That may be just this time," she said. "The bottom line is there had to be
something behind the reason they thought this kid was taking drugs. . . .
We do have counseling here if you want to take advantage of some of our
services."

Spreading the word

Getting news about the drug screening program and the educational support
groups out to parents has been difficult. The Resource Center has tried to
spread the word by posting fliers in schools and running an article in the
school newspaper. In some cases, letters have been sent home to parents of
teens who have been targeted by teachers or other professionals as possibly
having a problem.

"There's such a denial thing," Christian said. "Some {parents} say it's a
phase or experimental, or the hippie generation sit around and smoke or
drink with their kids. What I want to say to parents is we've got so many
opportunities here for your youngsters, what do you have to lose?"

The most recent spot check for drugs done by the parent of the once errant
middle school student proved negative, but the parent intends to
periodically continue monitoring the adolescent.

"Kids have good intentions, but it's real hard when you have peer
influences," the parent said. "You can't lock your child away and say no,
you can't go out. But you can't blindly accept their word. I found this
{drug screening} is an effective tool hopefully to limit if not stop
experimentation and use of drugs."

INFOBOX

FACTS ABOUT DRUG TESTING

Here's how to use the drug testing program:

Meet with Beaches Resource Center staff member to complete testing request
form and schedule appointment for teen's drug screen.

Teen gives urine specimen at Beaches Family Health Center, 350 10th Ave.
S., Jacksonville Beach.

Return to resource center to obtain drug screen results that were sent to
Gateway Community Services in Jacksonville for analysis.

Discuss options.

The drug screen costs $15. It detects the presence of five types of drugs
- -- amphetamines, benzodiazepines (antidepressants like Valium), cannabinoid
(marijuana), cocaine and opiates.

WARNING SIGNS OF DRUG USE

Missing money Chronic excuses for being late Sleeps more than usual Odor of
alcohol, tobacco or drugs on clothes Disappearance of personal articles
Time disorientation/forgetfulness Signs of depression Chronic defensiveness
about behavior High and low mood swings Change in friends Self-destructive
behavior Rebellious attitude Drug slogans on clothes/room Chronic
dishonesty Skipping meals Unhealthy appearance Less time spent at home,
with family Drug-related books and magazines Conversation or jokes about
drugs Decline in school grades Abusive language or physically abusive
Change in clothing or hair styles Wanting to be left alone Constant
complaining

Warning sign information taken from Helping Children Make Healthy Choices,
a booklet compiled by the Duval County Public Schools Zeroing In On
Prevention staff.