Prevention or Drug Treatment Program
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is defined as a preventative program that assists children to avoid drugs, violence, and gang activities. The program D.A.R.E. offers is a series of classroom lessons led, usually, by a police officer who teaches ages kindergarten through 12th grade to live constructive, positive, drug free lives and to avoid violence and resist peer pressure to do things they shouldn't. The idea of D.A.R.E. is to educate all students, not just those who have indicated a problem or are already involved with drugs.
In July, 2008, an independent study was done on 5th, 7th, and 9th graders to determine if the D.A.R.E. education program worked to make kids more aware of potential problems from drugs. It found that not only the students, but he parents as well, were far more educated in things like the dangers of OTC drugs, that Rx drugs are meant for one person only, how to properly dispose of drugs, and much more. Other research has indicated parallel successes with the program (Darnell & Emshoff, 2008).
One of the positives about the program is that it is not aimed at just one drug. It is a broad-based education program on the dangers of drugs, gangs and violence that has now educated hundreds of thousands students.
I would recommend the D.A.R.E. program due to the success we just mentioned as a result of the study done on the students at various stages in their education. And there are many other studies as well that indicate success (D.A.R.E., n.d.). That, to me, is the proof that the program works.
Not having known a great deal about this program, I was impressed when I reviewed the various research studies and the basics of the program. Particularly, I think the fact that it has reached so many classrooms across the country with practical information is valuable.
Bibliography
D.A.R.E. (n.d.). Research, resources, evaluations. Retrieved July 2, 2009, from dare.com: http://www.dare.com/home/Resources/Default5647.asp?N=Resources&M=16&S=0
Darnell, A., & Emshoff, J. (2008, July 24). Findings from the evaluation of the D.A.R.E. prescription and over-the-counter drug curriculum. Retrieved July 2, 2009, from dare.com: http://www.dare.com/home/Resources/documents/DAREReport0821_final.pdf
