SCHOOLS RE-EVALUATE DARE PROGRAM DESIGNED TO WARN STUDENTS ABOUT DRUGS

WORCESTER -- Supporters say the DARE program is a valuable asset in the
fight to educate kids about drugs and alcohol.

But in July, the city of Lunenburg dropped its DARE curriculum -- and a
number of central Massachusetts communities have followed suit.

Continued drug use among children despite DARE's presence in thousands of
schools has many communities abandoning or re-evaluating the publicly
funded Drug Abuse Resistance Education.

The city of Harvard dropped its DARE program in August. Shrewsbury school
officials have hired a consultant to study DARE's efficacy. And the
Barre-based Quabbin Regional School District is considering downgrading
DARE to an extracurricular program.

"I think it's certainly legitimate to keep an eye on it," Diane Delli
Carpini, chairwoman of the Lunenburg School Committee, told the Telegram &
Gazette of Worcester. "With Massachusetts so outcome-based and
accountability oriented, other school districts are going to have to look
at (DARE). I think we did the right thing for the kids."

Cities in other parts of the country, including Houston; Milwaukee;
Oakland, Calif.; and Fayetteville, N.C., dropped the program after studies
cast doubts on its success rate.

DARE was founded by the Los Angeles police department in the 1980s. Under
the program, police officers visit elementary school classrooms to explain
the dangers of drugs.

In recent years, DARE has expanded to include lessons on such topics as
violence, cigarette smoking and date rape.

About 240,000 youths across Massachusetts are now enrolled in DARE
programs, many of which are funded by the state. In the last two years, the
state has given communities $4.3 million in DARE grants.

Even as many communities discuss scaling back on their DARE programs, some
believe the program should be expanded to middle and high schools.

"We continue to feel it's a good program," said Lt. Michael L. Vaca,
commander of the Worcester police department's community service unit.
"We've had a lot of positive results and positive feedback."

Worcester police has nine full-time DARE officers, having added two recently.

Vaca said the program has helped form positive relationships between
officers and youths, and has led police to cases of sexual abuse and drug
use by parents.

However, he acknowledged a long-standing study to track its DARE graduates
to see whether they stay out of trouble has yet to be implemented.

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson