DARE PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE

State Sticks To Program Despite Talk Of Ineffectiveness

The Indiana Drug Abuse Resistance Education program will continue to
educate students about drug awareness, despite studies indicating the
program is ineffective.

In 1998, the University of Illinois at Chicago did a study that found DARE
had no effect on students' drug use when they reached high school. In 1999,
a University of Kentucky study found that DARE had no effect on student's
drug use 10 years after completing the program. According to the Chicago
Tribune, just last month a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
study concluded that DARE was ineffective, and "not a very good use of
taxpayer money."

"In order to fund programs like DARE, they must be research-based," said
Matt Hassel, chief of police in Marshall County. Hassel was the president
of DARE in 1993 and has been teaching DARE for 13 years. "(Robert Wood
Johnson) researched the new DARE program, and in fact, it was proven that
it helps students."

The Illinois program has run into such problems as cuts in funding and a
decrease in its effectiveness.

Indiana DARE officers have experienced a few cuts in funding, but not as
much as Illinois. In addition to money from town taxpayers and sponsors,
the Robert Wood Johnson foundation, based in Camden, New Jersey, has
donated $13.5 million to the DARE program. The money will be used to revamp
the middle school and high school DARE curriculum.

"Illinois is dropping the DARE program because of problems in the economy,"
said DARE instructor and past president of DARE Lewis Corya, "not because
of problems in the DARE program."

Corya said that in light of layoffs of police officers, DARE officers have
been pulled only to stabilize their police force, not because the program
is in trouble.

"(The government) is searching for a scapegoat," Corya said. "We're
pinching along, but just because of the economy."

Jeffrey Merrill, professor of psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical
School, told the Chicago Tribune that he believes DARE will survive because
of the officers' loyalty to the program.

"They bring such excitement and dedication to the program that most local
programs have become self-sustaining," Merrill said.

In response to the studies that say DARE is no longer an effective program,
Corya disagrees. "TV glorifies the use of drugs and alcohol. If (a child's)
family life isn't stable, if their parents aren't there to watch over them,
this factors into drug and alcohol use. But this program can make kids
well-educated about drugs. Kids who have graduated high school have come
back and said I've made a difference in their lives because of DARE."

"The DARE program is very effective," Hassel added. "I feel that the new
program will be even better."

Illinois' DARE programs are funded through the state budget. Indiana's
programs receive very little money from state funds, getting the majority
of their money through the town DARE is being taught in. In addition,
sponsors donate money to the programs.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Governor George Ryan cut $1.5 million in
state funding that would normally pay for DARE student workbooks and
officer training. The Illinois State Police DARE training center informed
police officers that due to the recent cut in funds, they would no longer
be able to provide supplies used to teach DARE.