NY State Withdraws DARE Funding

rumandromanism · Aug 14, 2008

Stolen from NORML:

New York
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A program aimed at keeping kids off drugs became a topic of conversation earlier this summer when the state announced it would no longer help fund it.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, known as DARE, has been a mainstay in Ontario County schools since 1991. Some 20,000 kids have taken part in the program in the county's nine school districts outside the two cities, with thousands more having been through the program in the city school districts in Geneva and Canandaigua.

The state's withdrawal of funding won't put an end to the program here, at least in the near future, based on what those involved with it have to say.

Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero, whose office provides police officers to teach DARE in the schools outside the cities, said so far no schools have opted out of DARE and "we are gearing up for the fall semester."

In the schools using DARE officers through the sheriff's office, the program involves students in fifth-or sixth grade taking part in classes led by a DARE officer for 14 to 16 consecutive weeks. The officer uses a curriculum and workbooks to guide discussions and study topics that include the effects of smoking cigarettes, alcohol and illegal drugs. Topics also include abuse of prescription drugs and toxic household chemicals, such as paint thinner, that are used to get high. Anger, peer pressure, bullying and how relationships with family and friends affect behavior are also discussed, Povero said. The goal is to educate students and encourage them to make healthy choices, he said.

It's a difficult fight.

"The allure of sex and drugs will always be there," said Andy Thomas, spokesman for the Canandaigua City School District. In the city school district, students take DARE at the same time the kids in the other schools do, in addition to follow-up programs tied to health education through their senior year.

"We live in a stressful culture," Thomas said, with youngsters - as well as adults - looking for outlets to deal with that stress. DARE gives students information and encourages them to find outlets other than drugs, he said. The hope is that with students learning about drugs and the potential dangers at age 11 or 12, before most kids begin experimenting, he said, those kids will be better equipped to resist temptation when it comes later on.

From a financial standpoint, the amount the state has been providing Ontario County for the DARE program is relatively small. The program cost the sheriff's office $24,849 during the past school year, said Povero. Revenue to help pay for the program amounted to just $4,000 from the state, while another $15,000 or so was raised through private and public grants, fundraising and money that comes from seizures the sheriff's office makes in drug cases.

At the Canandaigua City School District, City Council is paying $65,000 this year for a DARE officer through the City Police Department. That amounts to 80 percent of the total salary and benefits of that one police officer. Thomas said the DARE officer is at the school pretty much full-time during the school year.

No Benchmarks

Thomas said questions about the program's worth are not uncommon. But determining its effectiveness isn't easy, he said.

A member of law enforcement agrees.

"It is tough to measure," agreed Canandaigua Police Lt. Michael Colacino, who served as a DARE officer for five years in the late 1990s. The reason it's difficult to weigh whether the programs are effective, he said, is that many factors play into the choices young people make.

Thomas said Canandaigua has been doing periodic surveys to assess drug use since the 1980s. The survey showed alcohol use dropped some years ago, then spiked in recent years. Use of marijuana went through a slump years ago, according to the surveys, then showed a slight upturn more recently. The surveys have shown that use of hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine continues to be small, said Thomas.

"Alcohol and marijuana remain the real issue," he said.

Laurie O'Brien teaches sixth grade at Naples Central Schools, where her students for the past 15 years have taken part in DARE.

O'Brien said she sees the relationship the kids develop with the DARE officer as a side benefit. Some kids go into the program seeing police officers as "bad guys," she said. But the kids end up getting to know the DARE officer and begin seeing police officers as friends, not foes.

The DARE officer in Naples is Steven Mumby, who uses role-playing, games and other activities in his classes. He also keeps a DARE box in the classroom where students can drop in questions anytime, which he then addresses either in a group or a one-on-one setting.

Mumby has been a DARE officer through the sheriff's office since 1991 and has worked with students in a half-dozen school districts. One of his joys is seeing the kids' faces "light up" when it's DARE day, he said.

Mumby believes DARE makes a difference, though the program should be viewed in the proper context.

"We deserve a small amount of credit or a small amount of blame," for the decisions a student makes, he said.

A student's DARE experience "is just a small piece of the puzzle" in fighting drug and alcohol abuse, he said. Family and peers have a huge impact, he said. And even then he cautioned that home life - good or bad - doesn't necessarily determine the choices someone will make about drugs or alcohol.

Other Perspectives

Andrea Jones, 18, a graduate of Honeoye Central School who attended DARE, called the program "a reality check."

Kids should be getting the information about drug abuse early, she said, and DARE offers that. Andrea's mother, Penny Jones, a secretary at Honeoye Central School, said the kids benefit because some don't get information or support at home for making sound choices.

But not everyone is sold on DARE.

Fifteen-year-old Jordain Moore, a rising sophomore at Naples, said the message of DARE is repeated so often at school that it has become "tedious."

DARE points students in the right direction, said Jordain, "but in the long run, it's mainly your choice." | Elysia Adams, 31, is a mom who lives in Farmington and attended Canandaigua Academy and attended DARE. She used to smoke marijuana occasionally, she said, and doesn't know if the program had much influence on her then.

Michelle Frazer, also 31, lives in Shortsville and attended Palmyra-Macedon. She said that at age 13 she was put in a program that worked in conjunction with DARE to help kids that were already using drugs and alcohol.

"I was going to school with alcohol in me," she said.

Before the school put Frazer in the special program, she was experimenting with drugs and skipping school. She eventually ran away from home, she said. The assistance she got in school helped her remain clean for a time. Between her junior and senior years of high school she was off drugs and pulling her life together.

But factors other than a "program" ultimately made the difference, she said. When a boyfriend died - not from drug abuse - before she was out of high school, she relapsed, relying on drugs to cope with sadness and anger, she said. Then, at age 21, Frazer decided she wanted to have a family and raise them to be healthy.

"I finally got off alcohol and drugs," she said.

While Adams is unsure if it helped her much when she was in school, she's convinced DARE has its place.

"I think it enforces the right values," said Adams.

As parents, she added, "you can only tell your kids so much and they will only listen so much."
Click to expand...

http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v08/n779/a05.htm

Discuss. I had to sit through those awful DARE classes, which were a complete waste of time. Hopefully, future generations won't be brainwashed like mine was.

Still Smokin · Aug 14, 2008

I think it was said best here...

"The allure of sex and drugs will always be there"

Exactally, and so will the natural sense of temptation and curiosity... so educate our kids to make smart decisions. DARE is the most horseshit anti-drug propoganda our gubmint has ever thought of. DARE does not point kids in the right direction it points them towards a life of ignorance. Fuck DARE.

Ypres · Aug 14, 2008

Ignorance parading behind the facade of factual information in order to portray the idea that the government actually invites us to make decisions.

jomoyo069 · Aug 14, 2008

i hated DARE..lol brings back memories of elementary school and shit

dr dro · Aug 14, 2008

I learned nothing in DARE. I think I already knew that drugs were "bad", and I was just too young to worry about them.

Kids already know that "adults" and the government are against drugs. Does the program really make any impact on how kids react when presented with drugs? Could it just make some of them more curious?

Bleezie_King · Aug 14, 2008

people will always be getting fucked up. no matter what.

Palmer Eldritch · Aug 14, 2008

but.... if there's no more DARE how are stoners going to get their DARE shirts and wear them ironicly now?
Its a terrible loss for our culture.
At least I've got mine and it still fits.

rumandromanism · Aug 14, 2008

Palmer Eldritch said:

but.... if there's no more DARE how are stoners going to get their DARE shirts and wear them ironicly now?
Its a terrible loss for our culture.
At least I've got mine and it still fits.
Click to expand...

I wish I was smart back in 5th grade and went to my DARE graduation...

Never even got a t-shirt. The worst was, after "graduation" we still had to go to MORE DARE classes in 8th grade. Those were primarily geared towards, drugs, sex, and gang violence. Lame.

bigred420 · Aug 14, 2008

I bet the mayor of NYC hates this, he is a big stickler on drug use.

DemonChild · Aug 14, 2008

Palmer Eldritch said:

but.... if there's no more DARE how are stoners going to get their DARE shirts and wear them ironicly now?
Its a terrible loss for our culture.
At least I've got mine and it still fits.
Click to expand...

I know, all the drug dealers at my (old) school wore the DARE shirts so people would notice them.

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NY State Withdraws DARE Funding

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