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September 26, 1999 Iowa
DARE program still optimistic about effectiveness Becki
White
Jane Todey, school improvement consultant for character education at the Iowa Department of Education, said she thinks DARE--the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program -- is doing its job. "I think in situations where you have a committed DARE officer, it's working," she said. "The curriculum is secondary; it's the relationship the DARE officers form with the kids and parents. It's the athletic events and activities they attend. That's what's important." A University of Kentucky study was published in the August issue of "The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology." It was a follow-up study to a 1986-1996 study of 2,000 sixth-grade students, which looked at the students' attitudes toward drugs and actual use before and after intervention through 10th grade. In the earlier study, 23 elementary schools in a Midwestern community were randomly assigned to receive DARE intervention and eight others received standard drug education. About one-tenth less time was spent on drug education in the latter group. In the follow-up study, the students received a mailed request to participate in a survey. About 1,000 students between the ages of 19 and 21 replied to the survey, which dealt with attitudes toward and use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other illicit drugs. The study found "there were no effects in actual drug use initially or during the follow-up period" for students who went through DARE intervention. "It's probably a reasonable study," Todey said. "But if you give a kid anything for 17 hours, by the age of 20 what should you be able to expect? If you gave a kid piano lessons in sixth grade, should you expect them to be able to play 10 years later?" Todey said she thinks DARE has more positive short-term effects. West Des Moines police officer and DARE teacher Michael Ficcola said he doesn't think the study is valid. "DARE has never once said that we're the savior of the world," he said. "But I've had kids come up to me and say, 'Some of the things that helped me stay away from drugs I learned in DARE'." DARE started in 1983 in Los Angeles and is now in nearly 75 percent of the nation's school districts. It is a 17-hour in-class program led by uniformed police officers. The curriculum focuses on resisting peer pressure and giving accurate information about drugs and alcohol. West Des Moines police officer and DARE teacher Jeff Logan said he thinks the study shows that drug intervention needs to continue beyond DARE. "Some students just don't get it," he said. "They need reinforcements...from home. We're not super heroes. Police officers are those folks who see the problems...we have real-life stories." The program was initially designed for elementary students but is expanding nationally to junior highs and high schools. Todey said this is one of her goals for the Iowa program. Eventually, Todey would like to include DARE in Iowa's high schools. She said the recent study shows that intervention needs to continue through graduation. "The schools are definitely open to more programming," she said. "But we have to find people and a way to pay them." Officer Logan suggested involving college students in high school drug intervention. "Students might listen more to them instead of me," he said. Officer Ficcola said the interaction he has with students is one of the most important elements of DARE. "Now, (students) aren't running into us and thinking--Oh it's the bad guys," he said. "When the other children see me, there's a relationship," Logan said. "We think that's positive. We're hoping to enhance relationships." Iowa DARE spends $200,000 annually. Worldwide, the DARE program spends more than $200 million a year. Todey said she thinks DARE's costs are justified by the program's effects. "How many meth labs do we have to dismantle every year? That costs $10,000 a piece," she said. "Which end would you rather put the money in?" Todey said many of the current Iowa DARE officers are not paid and volunteer their time. "They take late shifts so they can help these kids during the day. They take vacation to go to training," she said. "If the officers didn't think it worked, do you think they would leave their families and take night shifts to work with these kids all day?" Logan said he thinks DARE's curriculum is working. "We're optimists. You have to believe in what you're doing; that your effort is going to pay off." |