The StarLedger
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In DARE's defense By Fred Hillman

I was dismayed by your appallingly shallow April 28 article disparaging the
DARE program. It appears you had two reporters plus the Associated Press
working on this, and the best they could come up with was a researcher's
negative comment about an unreleased study and two teens whose remarks were
irrelevant to the article's premise.

I have been a member of the board of DARE New Jersey for five years. I have
seen the organization grow from a handful of school programs to an effective
statewide presence. More important, I have seen firsthand the positive
results of DARE training. I have one son who has completed the program and
another who cannot wait to take the training because of his older brother's
positive experience.

It is critical to understand that DARE is not a treatment program. It is an
education and awareness program. If nothing else, it provides young people
with a positive encounter with law officers. Drug use among teens is rising
at a disturbingly high rate. There's no telling how high it would be without
DARE.

Fred Hillmann, Union