KIDS AND DRUGS PROGRAM LAUNCHING THIS FEBRUARY

One the best ways to prevent substance use and abuse by children is to
educate and empower parents. That is the thinking behind a new program
that will be rolled out in Camrose this February.

"Kids and Drugs: A Parent's Guide to Prevention" is the Alberta adaptation
of a national program developed cooperatively by the RCMP and AADAC.

"The program is not so much concerned about the drugs that are out there;
it is about building relations between parents and kids and building
parents' strengths," explains Jan Turnbull, a Success Mentor at Charlie
Killam School and member of the Camrose Alcohol and Drug Task Force which
is bringing the program to Camrose.

The first presentation of Kids and Drugs: A Parent's Guide to Prevention
will be held at Ecole Sifton School Wednesday evenings starting February
3. The the program will unfold over five sessions, each with a different
theme such as "The power of parents," "Talking with your kids," "Helping
your kids make good decisions," "What parents need to know about drugs,"
and "What next? Creating a personal action plan."

"It's really easy to follow and is very much a prevention and promotion
based program, which helps parents to realize that they have the skills to
raise kids that are going to avoid drugs and alcohol," explains Task Force
member Bettyann Petruk, Health Promotion Facilitator with Alberta Health
Services.

"It's not so much that parents are going to go back, take the information
that they learned in these sessions, and tell their children about it. It
is more that they are going to put into practice the skills and knowledge
in their parenting and in dealing with other kids," she adds.

The Kids and Drugs: A Parent's Guide to Prevention sessions will be led by
a number of local facilitators who took part in a two-day training session
this fall hosted by the Camrose Alcohol and Drug Task Force. As a result,
a total of 11 facilitators, from a variety of backgrounds, are now
available to help roll out the program in the community.

Task force members hope to follow the initial presentation at Sifton School
with others throughout the community. The idea, according to Petruk, is to
build a web of individuals who can employ the skills contained within the
program.

"Once parents have come to receive the training and information, they can
then work with their schools and their communities as they see fit," she
explains. "Basically it is increasing community capacity around drug and
alcohol prevention."

Kids and Drugs: A Parent's Guide to Prevention is targeted for parents and
caregivers of children in the grades four and five age range and is open to
anyone who is interested. The first intake of the program is being
promoted through Ecole Sifton School but other interested individuals may
be included if there is space available.

The Task Force is not sure what the response will be to the initial
offering of the program, but the experience in other communities has been
that, after the first intake, interest spreads.

"This is something that builds by word of mouth, so this time we might get
only 10 people, but next time there could be a waiting list," explains Task
Force member Devonna Gibson, Network Coordinator with the Prairie Central
FASD Network.

The Kids and Drugs program dovetails nicely with the children-focused DARE
program offered in Camrose schools by the Camrose Police Service. The
program is also ideally suited to a more prevention-oriented focus adopted
by the Camrose Alcohol and Drug Task Force ( formerly the Battle River Drug
Response Task Force ).

"Our Task Force has kind of switched gears, which is why we changed our
name. We're not a crisis response team anymore, we're more focused on
prevention and promotion," explains Turnbull. "We work collaboratively
raising the awareness of the factors around drug and alcohol use among
youth and families in the community."

The Task Force is made up of a broad cross section of members including
representatives from health, education, police, and the community at large.

For more information about Kids and Drugs: A Parent's Guide to Prevention,
contact Devonna Gibson at 780-608-8655, or Rajan Rathnavalu at 780-679-2980.