Additional Information
Alternatives to the Failed DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program
The popular Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program has consistently and without exception been found by scientific research to be ineffective and sometimes counterproductive -- that is, worse than doing nothing. That’s the conclusion of the US Department of Education (DOE), the US Surgeon General, the US General Accountability Office (GAO), and the American Academy of Sciences, among others. The Department of Education strictly prohibits the use of any of its funding to support DARE in any school.
Fortunately, schools are not faced with the choice between DARE and no program. A federal agency (SAMSHA) has identified 66 model programs, any one of which would be preferable to the ineffective DARE program.
The alternative model programs are:
| PROGRAM | PROGRAM DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Across Ages Selective |
Across Ages is a school- and community-based drug prevention program for youth 9 to 13 years, that seeks to strengthen the bonds between adults and youth and provide opportunities for positive community involvement. The unique and highly effective feature of Across Ages is the pairing of older adult mentors (age 55 and above) with young adolescents, specifically youth making the transition to middle school. The program employs mentoring, community service, social competence training, and family activities to build youths' sense of personal responsibility for self and community. Specifically, the program aims to:
The overall goal of the program is to increase the protective factors for high-risk students in order to prevent, reduce, or delay the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and the problems associated with such use. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Best Practice Model in Youth Violence Prevention: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Top 25, Positive Youth Development Program: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Commendable Practice: Child Welfare League of America Model Program: Case Study for North America: United Nations Office of Drug Control Programs |
| Al's Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices Universal |
Al's Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices is a resiliency-based early childhood curriculum and teacher training program that develops personal, social, and emotional skills in children 3 to 8 years old. Using 46 interactive lessons, Al's Pals teaches children how to:
The lessons use guided creative play, brainstorming, puppetry, original music, and movement to develop children's social-emotional competence and life skills. A nine-lesson booster curriculum is used in second or third grade with children who have previously received the full program. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Promising Program: Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education Effective Program: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) |
| All Stars™ Universal Selective |
All Stars™ is a school- or community-based program designed to delay and prevent high-risk behaviors with middle school-age adolescents (11 to 14 years old), including substance use, violence, and premature sexual activity, by fostering development of positive personal characteristics. A highly interactive program, All Stars involves 13 lessons during its first year, and 9 booster lessons in its second year*. For more information see www.allstarsprevention.com. All Stars is based on strong research that has identified the critical factors that lead young people to begin experimenting with substances and participating in other high-risk behaviors. The program is designed to reinforce positive qualities that are typical of youth at this age; it works to strengthen five specific qualities that are vital to achieving preventive effects:
All Stars is available in formats for delivery in schools as part of regular classroom instruction, and in after-school and community-based organizations and programs. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Promising Program: U.S. Department of Education *This program has updated and revised their curriculum. Please contact the developer, If you would like to implement this program. |
| ATLAS (Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids) Universal |
ATLAS (Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids) is a multicomponent school-based program for male high school athletes (13 to 19 years old). It capitalizes on team-centered dynamics and uses positive peer pressure and role modeling to reduce the use of:
Delivered to school sports team, with instruction led by student athlete peers and facilitated by coaches, ATLAS promotes healthy nutrition and exercise behaviors as alternatives to substance use. The 10-session curriculum is highly scripted and contains interactive and entertaining activities that make it easy and desirable to deliver, enhancing the fidelity of the intervention. The product of 10 years of research and field testing, ATLAS focuses specifically on adolescent male athletes' risk and protective factors. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Program: U.S. Department of Education Effective Program: National Institute on Drug Abuse |
| BASICS: Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students Selective Indicated |
BASICS, Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention of College Students: A Harm Reduction Approach, is a preventive intervention for college students 18 to 24 years old. It is aimed at students who drink alcohol heavily and have experienced or are at risk for alcohol-related problems such as poor class attendance, missed assignments, accidents, sexual assault, and violence. Students often conform to patterns of heavy drinking they see as acceptable while holding false beliefs about alcohol's effects or actual alcohol-use norms. BASICS is designed to help students make better alcohol-use decisions. The program's style is empathetic, not confrontational or judgmental, and:
BASICS is conducted over the course of only two interviews, and these brief, limited interventions prompt students to change their drinking patterns. While research also shows that, over time, the majority of students who drink heavily will reduce consumption without the intervention, BASICS speeds the process. BASICS is designed to affect the individual; however, post-intervention students often comment that they respond differently to friends as a result of participation. Thus, if implemented densely (e.g., dormitory or other residential settings), BASICS may have a broader effect. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Border Binge-Drinking Reduction Program Universal |
The Border Binge-Drinking Reduction Program provides multilevel, community-based interventions proven effective at reducing alcohol-related trauma caused by cross-border binge drinking by young Americans. Because the United States, Mexico, and Canada have significant disparities in the legal drinking age, the price of alcohol, and the enforcement of alcohol sales regulations, it is legal or easier for those under age 21 to obtain alcohol. Thousands of American teens and young adults (age 24 and below) are prompted to go into these nearby countries to binge drink. Consequently, an alarming number of young Americans return to the United States drunk, presenting a significant risk to themselves and the public through the increased potential for car crashes and other alcoholrelated violence. The Border Binge-Drinking Program is a binational effort that employs environmental management and media advocacy to curb these irresponsible drinking practices, including:
Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) Indicated |
Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) is an effective, problem-focused, and practical approach to the elimination of substance abuse risk factors. It successfully reduces problem behaviors in children and adolescents, 6 to 17 years, and strengthens their families. BSFT provides families with tools to decrease individual and family risk factors through focused interventions that improve problematic family relations and skill building strategies that strengthen families. It targets:
The program fosters parental leadership, appropriate parental involvement, mutual support among parenting figures, family communication, problem solving, clear rules and consequences, nurturing, and shared responsibility for family problems. In addition, the program provides specialized outreach strategies to bring families into therapy. RecognitionModel Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Presidential Award: Society for Prevention Research Research Award: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention |
| CASASTART Selective Indicated |
CASASTART (Striving Together to Achieve Rewarding Tomorrows) is a community-based, school-centered program designed to keep high-risk preadolescents (8 to 13 years old) free of drug and crime involvement. The central notion underlying the program is that while rates of experimentation with drugs and alcohol are similar for preadolescents from all backgrounds, those who lack effective human and social support are at higher risk of continuing and intensifying substance abuse. Using an intensive and coordinated marriage of preventive services and community-based law enforcement, CASASTART addresses the individual needs of participants as well as the broader problems of their families and communities. It operates on three levels to:
The program brings together key stakeholders in a community or neighborhood (schools, law enforcement, social services, and health agencies) under one umbrella and provides case managers to work daily with high-risk children. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Program: Safe and Drug Free Schools Program, U.S. Department of Education Model Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice Promising Program: U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Youth Violence CASASTART was developed by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. CASA is neither affiliated with, nor sponsored by, the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (also known as "CASA") or any of its member organizations, or any other organization with the name of "CASA." |
| Challenging College Alcohol Abuse Universal Indicated |
Challenging College Alcohol Abuse (CCAA) is a social norms and environmental management program that reduces high-risk drinking and related negative consequences in college students (18 to 24 years old). Under CCAA, the campus health service uses new and innovative methods to communicate public health information to students, the campus community, and the surrounding community to:
CCAA fosters development of policies that establish and maintain a healthy and safe environment for all students. It also seeks to develop community and civic partnerships and collaborations in support of campus alcohol and drug policies, and State and local laws. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Model Program Award: U.S. Department of Education |
| Child Development Project (CDP) Universal |
The Child Development Project (CDP) is a multifaceted, schoolwide improvement program that helps elementary schools become "caring communities of learners" for their students (5 to 12 years old). CDP significantly reduces children's early use of alcohol and marijuana and their involvement in violence-related behavior. CDP is designed to strengthen connections among peers and between students of different ages, teachers and students, and home and school, in order to promote:
The program, which involves students in all grade levels, their families, teachers, and school administrators, prepares children to play responsible roles in their classrooms and schools so that later they can contribute to the wider society. The program has recently been streamlined and strengthened to make it more feasible and affordable to implement, and more effective at boosting literacy skills. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Promising Safe and Drug Free Schools Program: U.S. Department of Education Educational Programs That Work: U.S. Department of Education |
| Children in the Middle Selective |
Children in the Middle is a skills-based program that helps children and parents deal with the children's reactions to divorce. Divorcing parents may use their children to manipulate and/or control each other around a variety of personal, social, and financial issues. These tactics increase the stress and anxiety typically experienced by children of divorce and can increase children's risk for behavior problems, depression, delinquency, substance use, teen pregnancy, school failure and dropout, and suicide. Built around a 37-minute video for parents and a 30-minute video for children, Children in the Middle needs no special training or licensing to implement, and seeks to alleviate children's problems such as—
The parent video teaches parents the skills needed to avoid putting children in the middle of their conflicts. The child video helps children understand why parents divorce. It dispels common myths that children have about divorce (e.g., "It's my fault" or "I can get my parents back together") and teaches children stress and anger management and problem-solving skills. The parent video is available open-captioned or in Spanish. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Positive Parenting Award: Children's Rights Council |
| Class Action Universal |
Class Action is part of the Project Northland school-based alcohol-use prevention curriculum series that significantly reduces increased alcohol use and binge drinking by high school students. A program for youth in grades 9 through 12, Class Action—
Based on the social influences theory of behavior change, the Class Action curriculum uses interactive, peer-led sessions to discuss and debate the consequences of substance abuse, thus changing the social norms around alcohol use and changing negative peer pressure into positive peer pressure. The Class Action intervention develops resistance, decision-making, social competence, and leadership skills. It can be used as part of the Project Northland series or as a stand-alone program. Results highlighted here, and reviewed by NREPP, come from communities that were part of a Project Northland study. |
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Child Sexual Abuse (CBT-CSA) Selective Indicated |
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Child Sexual Abuse (CBT-CSA) is a treatment approach designed to help children and adolescents who have suffered sexual abuse overcome posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and other behavioral and emotional difficulties. The program helps children to:
Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA) Universal |
Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA) is a community-organizing program designed to reduce adolescent (13 to 20 years old) access to alcohol by changing community policies and practices. Initiated in 1991, CMCA has proven that effectively limiting the access to alcohol to people under the legal drinking age not only directly reduces teen drinking, but also communicates a clear message to the community that underage drinking is inappropriate and unacceptable. CMCA employs a range of social organizing techniques to address legal, institutional, social, and health issues in order to reduce youth alcohol use by eliminating illegal alcohol sales to youth by retailers and obstructing the provision of alcohol to youth by adults. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Community Trials Intervention to Reduce High-Risk Drinking (RHRD) Universal |
Community Trials to Reduce High-Risk Drinking (RHRD) is a multicomponent, community-based program developed to alter alcohol use patterns of people of all ages (e.g., drinking and driving, underage drinking, acute (binge) drinking), and related problems. The program uses a set of environmental interventions including:
The program's aim is help communities reduce various types of alcohol-related accidents, violence, and resulting injuries. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Coping with Work and Family Stress Universal Selective Indicated |
Coping With Work and Family Stress: A Workplace Preventive Intervention, is a 16-session weekly group intervention designed to teach employees how to develop and apply effective coping strategies to deal with stressors at work and at home. The program results in—
Recognition Model Program—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Creating Lasting Family Connections (CLFC) Universal Selective Indicated |
Creating Lasting Family Connections (CLFC) is a comprehensive family strengthening, substance abuse, and violence prevention curriculum that has scientifically demonstrated that youth and families in high-risk environments can be assisted to become strong, healthy, and supportive people. Program results, documented with children 11 to 15 years, have shown significant increases in children’s resistance to the onset of substance use and reduction in use of alcohol and other drugs. CLFC provides parents and children with strong defenses against environmental risk factors by teaching appropriate skills for personal growth, family enhancement, and interpersonal communication, including refusal skills for both parents and youth. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Model Family Strengthening Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Promising Program: U.S. Department of Education Special Recognition Award: Office of National Drug Control Policy YouthNet Model Program: Selected for worldwide replication by the International Youth Foundation |
| DARE To Be You (DTBY) Universal Selective |
DARE To Be You (DTBY) is a multilevel, primary prevention program for children 2 to 5 years old and their families. It significantly lowers the risk of future substance abuse and other high-risk activities by dramatically improving parent and child protective factors in the areas of communication, problem solving, self-esteem, and family skills. Program interventions are designed to:
DTBY program materials are available in English and Spanish. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Program: National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors and the National Prevention Network Building Human Capital Award: U.S. Department of Agriculture Distinguished Service Award: Cooperative Extension Service Excellence in Prevention: Colorado Governor's Award Champion for Children and Families, Individual Award: Colorado Mothers, Inc. |
| Early Risers: Skills for Success Indicated |
Early Risers is a multicomponent, high intensity, competency enhancement program that targets elementary school children (6 to 10 years old) who are at high risk for early development of conduct problems, including substance use. Early Risers is based on the premise that early, comprehensive, and sustained intervention is necessary to target multiple risk and protective factors. The program uses a full strength intervention model with two complementary components to move high-risk children onto a more adaptive developmental pathway. Interventions include:
The enhanced competence gained through the Early Risers program leads to the development of positive self-image, independent decisionmaking, healthy problem solving, assertive communication, and constructive coping. Once acquired, these attributes and skills collectively enable youth to resist personal and social forces that encourage early substance use and potential abuse and dependency. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Families And Schools Together (FAST) Universal Selective Indicated |
Families and Schools Together (FAST) is a multifamily group intervention designed to build protective factors and reduce the risk factors associated with substance abuse and related problem behaviors for children 4 to 12 years old and their parents. FAST systematically applies research on family stress theory, family systems theory, social ecological theory, and community development strategies to achieve its four goals:
One of the primary strategies of FAST is parent empowerment: parents receive support to be the primary prevention agents for their own children. Entire families participate in program activities that are designed to build parental respect in children, improve intra-family bonds, and enhance the family-school relationship. FAST activities were developed to build the social capital of parents and provide a safe place to practice parenting. As a result of this program, the participating children increase their social skills and attention span, while reducing their anxiety and aggression. Research has shown that these childhood behavioral outcomes are correlated in adolescence to the prevention of substance abuse, delinquency, and school failure. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Family Strengthening Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice School Reform Model: Office of Education for At-Risk Students, U.S. Department of Education Innovation in Government (finalist): Harvard School of Government and Ford Foundation |
| Families That Care: Guiding Good Choices (GGC) Universal |
Families That Care—Guiding Good Choices (GGC) is a multimedia program that gives parents of children in grades four through eight (8 to 13 years old) the knowledge and skills needed to guide their children through early adolescence. Over the last 20 years, research has shown that positive parental involvement is an important protective factor that increases school success and buffers children against later problems such as substance abuse, violence, and risky sexual behaviors. This program aims to:
Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Programs That Work: National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Promising Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice Promising Program: U.S. Department of Education |
| Family Effectiveness Training (FET) Indicated |
Family Effectiveness Training (FET) is a family-based program developed for and targeted to Hispanics. It is effective in reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors for adolescent substance abuse and related disruptive behaviors. FET, applied in the pre-adolescent years (6 to 12), targets three family factors that place children at risk as they make the transition to adolescence: 1) problems in family functioning, 2) parent–child conflicts, and 3) cultural conflicts between children and parents. FET uses two primary strategies:
Interventions employed by FET cover:
Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Presidential Award: Society for Prevention Research Research Award: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention |
| Family Matters Universal |
Family Matters is a home-based program designed to prevent tobacco and alcohol use in children 12 to 14 years old. The program is delivered through four booklets mailed to the home and follow-up telephone calls to parents by health educators. The booklets contain readings and activities designed to get families to consider general family characteristics and family tobacco- and alcohol-use attitudes and characteristics that can influence adolescent substance use, including:
Designed for use with any family in which at least one adult can read English, Family Matters requires a modest time effort from participants and is capable of broad dissemination by many types of organizations. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Healthy Workplace Universal |
The Healthy Workplace program is a set of workplace substance abuse prevention interventions that reduce unsafe drinking, illegal drug use, and prescription drug abuse while improving the health practices of adult workers. Cast in a health promotion framework and rooted in social-cognitive principles of behavior change, the program integrates substance abuse prevention material into popular health promotion programs, defusing the stigma that accompanies substance abuse, thus removing barriers to help-seeking behavior. The Healthy Workplace program achieves results because it:
Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| High/Scope Perry Preschool Program Universal |
The High/Scope Perry Preschool Program (High/Scope) utilizes an active learning approach to educating children, imparting skills that will support their development through school and into young adulthood. Based on more than 40 years of scientific research, it provides teachers and caregivers with a blueprint for daily routine, classroom and playground organization, and teacher-child interaction, all designed to create a warm, supportive learning environment. In addition, this learning environment encourages independent thinking, initiative, and creativity. High/Scope's goals are for young children to:
Every day, the program offers one-on-one adult attention, assures children that they can choose interesting things to do, and gives children a sense of control over themselves and their surroundings. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Lela Rowland Prevention Award: National Mental Health Association Model Program: Adults and Children Together (ACT) Against Violence 10 Best Preschools in America: Child Magazine (Demonstration Preschool) |
| Incredible Years Selective Indicated |
The Incredible Years series features three comprehensive, multi-faceted, and developmentally based curricula for parents, teachers, and children. The program is designed to promote emotional and social competence and to prevent, reduce, and treat behavioral and emotional problems in young children (2 to 8 years old). Young children with high rates of aggressive behavioral problems have been shown to be at great risk for developing substance abuse problems, becoming involved with deviant peer groups, dropping out of school, and engaging in delinquency and violence. Ultimately the aim of the teacher, parent, and child training programs is to prevent and reduce the occurrence of aggressive and oppositional behavior, thus reducing the chance of developing later delinquent behaviors. Incredible Years addresses multiple risk factors known to be related to the development of conduct disorders in children in both school and home. In all three training programs, trained facilitators use videotaped scenes to structure the content and stimulate group discussion and problem solving. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Model Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention U.S. Leila Rowland National Mental Health Award |
| JOBS Program Selective Indicated |
The JOBS Program is a group-based psychological educational intervention that has the dual goals of promoting reemployment and enhancing the coping capacities of unemployed workers and their families. The intervention offers a system for delivery and evaluation of a job search skill enhancement workshop for unemployed job seekers 17 to 65 years of age. Through a series of interactive sessions, The JOBS Program helps participants identify effective job-search strategies, improve job-search skills, Increase self esteem and confidence, and remain motivated to engage and persist in job-search activities until they become reemployed. The intervention consists of recruiting unemployed job seekers to attend five intensive half day workshops held over a 1- to 2 week period. The program is designed for persons who wish to gain paid employment, and is usually delivered in State employment offices. Studies found that JOBS participants found higher paying jobs and had fewer depressive episodes while unemployed. Research also showed that increased tax revenues associated with the higher-paying jobs rapidly offset program costs obtained by program participants. Program Development Support Researchers at the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan have conducted research on the problems facing unemployed persons and their families since 1981. The Michigan Prevention Research Center (MPRC) developed and evaluated the JOBS Program. |
| Keep A Clear Mind (KACM) Universal |
Keep A Clear Mind (KACM) is a take-home drug education program for upper elementary school students (8 to 12 years old) and their parents. The take-home material consists of 4 weekly sets of activities to be completed by parents and their children together. The program also uses parent newsletters and incentives. KACM lessons are based on a social skills training model and designed to help children develop specific skills to refuse and avoid the use of "gateway" drugs. This unique, early intervention program has been shown to positively influence known risk factors for later substance use. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| keepin’ It REAL Universal Selective |
The keepin' it REAL (Refuse, Explain, Avoid, Leave) program is a videoenhanced intervention that uses a culturally-grounded resiliency model which incorporates traditional ethnic values and practices that protect against drug use. A school-based prevention program for elementary, middle, and early high school students 10 through 17 years of age, keepin’ it REAL is based on previous work that demonstrates that teaching communication and life skills can combat negative peer and other influences. keepin’ it REAL extends resistance and life-skills models by using a culturally-based narrative and performance framework to:
keepin' it REAL utilizes a 10-lesson classroom curriculum accompanied by a collection of five videos that demonstrate resistance strategies and illustrate the skills taught in the lessons. Recognition Model Program—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Leadership and Resiliency Program (LRP) Selective Indicated |
The Leadership and Resiliency Program (LRP) is a school- and community-based program for high school students (14 to 17 years of age) that works to enhance youths' internal strengths and resiliency, while preventing involvement in substance use and violence. Program components include:
These alternative activities, offered after school, on weekends, and during the summer, focus on community service, altruism, learning about managed risk, social skills improvement, and conflict resolution. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Best Practices in Science-Based Programming: Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments Achievement Award: National Association of Counties Governor’s Recognition: Commonwealth of Virginia |
| LifeSkills Training (LST) Universal |
LifeSkills Training (LST) is a program that seeks to influence major social and psychological factors that promote the initiation and early use of substances. LifeSkills has distinct elementary (8 to 11 years old) and middle school (11 to 14 years old) curricula that are delivered in a series of classroom sessions over 3 years. The sessions use lecture, discussion, coaching, and practice to enhance students' self-esteem, feelings of self-efficacy, ability to make decisions, and ability to resist peer and media pressure. LST consists of three major components that address critical domains found to promote substance use. Research has shown that students who develop skills in these three domains are far less likely to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors. The three components each focus on a different set of skills:
Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Programs That Work (Discontinued): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Model Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Model Program: White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Exemplary Program: U.S. Department of Education Programs That Work: National Institute on Drug Abuse |
| Lions-Quest Skills for Adolescence Universal |
Lions-Quest Skills for Adolescence (SFA) is a comprehensive positive youth development and prevention program designed for schoolwide and classroom implementation in grades six through eight (10 to 14 years old). It involves educators, parents, and community members to develop in young adolescents:
The classroom curriculum-based program may be delivered daily, two to three times per week, or weekly with equal effectiveness, depending on the implementation model (see How It Works). The learning model employs inquiry, presentation, discussion, group work, guided practice, and reflection to build positive social behaviors of self-discipline, responsibility, good judgment, and respect for self and others. It develops positive commitments to the family, school, peers, and community in young people. SFA supports social and emotional learning, drug prevention, service learning, and character education initiatives. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Promising Program: Safe and Drug Free Schools and Community Program, U.S. Department of Education Select Program: The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) |
| Multidimensional Family Therapy |
Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) is a comprehensive and flexible family-based program designed to treat substance abusing and delinquent youth. MDFT is a multicomponent and multilevel intervention system that assesses and intervenes with the--
MDFT interventions are solution-focused and strive to obtain immediate and practical outcomes in the most important individual and transactional domains of the adolescent’s everyday life. MDFT can operate as a stand-alone outpatient intervention in any community-based clinical or prevention facility. It also has been successfully incorporated into existing community-based drug treatment programs, including a hospital-based day treatment program. Treatment length is 4 to 6 months. MDFT studies have been conducted at numerous wide-ranging geographic locales with African-American, Hispanic/Latino and White youth between the ages of 11 and 18 in urban, suburban and rural settings. Outcomes show that marijuana use decreases more rapidly, depression, anxiety and delinquent acts are more greatly reduced during MDFT compared to other treatments. Program Development Support MDFT has been supported with continuous Federal funding since 1985. The majority of this support has come from National Institute on Drug Abuse research grants and grants from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. |
| Multisystemic Therapy (MST) Indicated |
Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is a family-oriented, home-based program that targets chronically violent, substance-abusing juvenile offenders 12 to 17 years old. It uses methods that promote positive social behavior and decrease antisocial behavior, including substance use, to change how youth function in their natural settings (i.e., home, school, and neighborhood). The primary goals of MST are to:
Based on the philosophy that the most effective and ethical route to help youth is through helping their families, MST views parents or guardians as valuable resources, even when they have serious and multiple needs of their own. A "multisystemic" approach, however, views these youth as involved in a network of interconnected systems that encompass individual, family, and extra-familial (e.g., peer, school, neighborhood) factors, and recognizes that it is often necessary to intervene in more than one of these systems. MST addresses these factors in an individualized, comprehensive, and integrated manner. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesModel Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Effective Program: U.S. Surgeon General's Reports on Mental Health and Youth Violence Families Count Award: Annie E. Casey Foundation |
| Not On Tobacco |
Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) is a tobacco cessation program serving regular smokers 14 through 19 years of age, who most likely are addicted to nicotine. Based on social cognitive theory, the program trains youth in selfmanagement and stimulus control, social skills and social influence, stress management, relapse prevention, techniques to manage nicotine withdrawal, weight management, and peer pressure. The program’s 10-session curriculum can be delivered in a school or community setting and is designed to help youth--
N-O-T is a voluntary non-punitive program that uses life-management skills to help teen smokers handle stress, decisionmaking, and peer and family relationships. The program also addresses unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as alcohol or illegal drug use, as well as related healthy lifestyle components such as exercise and nutrition. |
| Nurse-Family Partnership Program Selective Indicated |
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) provides first-time, low-income mothers of any age with home visitation services from public health nurses. NFP nurses work intensively with these mothers to improve maternal, prenatal, and early childhood health and well being with the expectation that this intervention will help achieve long-term improvements in the lives of at-risk families. The intervention process is effective because it focuses on developing therapeutic relationships with the family and is designed to improve five broad domains of family functioning:
Starting with expectant mothers, the program addresses substance abuse and other behaviors that contribute to family poverty, subsequent pregnancies, poor maternal and infant outcomes, suboptimal childcare, and a lack of opportunities for the children. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Model Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention |
| Olweus Bullying Prevention Universal Indicated |
Olweus Bullying Prevention is a multilevel, multicomponent school-based program designed to prevent or reduce bullying in elementary, middle, and junior high schools (students 6 to 15 years). The program attempts to restructure the existing school environment to reduce opportunities and rewards for bullying. School staff is largely responsible for introducing and implementing the program. Their efforts are directed toward improving peer relations and making the school a safe and positive place for students to learn and develop. While intervention against bullying is particularly important to reduce the suffering of the victims, it is also highly desirable to counteract these tendencies for the sake of the aggressive student, as bullies are much more likely than other students to expand their antisocial behaviors. Research shows that reducing aggressive, antisocial behavior may also reduce substance use and abuse. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Model Program: Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention |
| Parenting Wisely Selective Indicated |
The Parenting Wisely intervention is a self-administered, computer-based program that teaches parents and their 9- to 18-year-old children important skills for combating risk factors for substance use and abuse. The Parenting Wisely program uses a risk-focused approach to reduce family conflict and child behavior problems, including stealing, vandalism, defiance of authority, bullying, and poor hygiene. The highly interactive and nonjudgmental CD-ROM format accelerates learning, and parents use new skills immediately. The Parenting Wisely program:
A highly versatile program, Parenting Wisely can be used alone, in a group, or with a practitioner at a variety of locations such as public agencies, schools, libraries, or at home. Semiliterate parents can use the Parenting Wisely program, as it provides the option to have the computer read all text aloud. Printed program portions are written at the fifth-grade level, and the entire program is available in Spanish. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary II Program: Family Strengthening, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice Pathways Project: Youth Justice Board, London, England |
| PATHS: Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies Universal Selective |
PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) is a comprehensive program for promoting emotional and social competencies and reducing aggression and acting-out behaviors in elementary-school-aged children, while simultaneously enhancing the educational process in the classroom. This innovative curriculum for kindergarten through sixth grade (ages 5 to 12) is used by educators and counselors as a multiyear, prevention model. The PATHS curriculum provides teachers with systematic and developmentally based lessons, materials, and instructions for teaching their students:
The PATHS curriculum has been shown to improve protective factors and reduce behavioral risk factors. Evaluations have demonstrated significant improvements for program youth, including those in general education and special needs settings. Although primarily focused on school and classroom settings, information and activities are also included for use with parents. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Model Program: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice Promising Program: U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Youth Violence Promising Program: Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, U.S. Department of Education Best Practices in Youth Violence Prevention Program: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services SELect Program: Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning |
| Positive Action (PA) Universal Selective Indicated |
Positive Action (PA) is an integrated, comprehensive, and coherent program that has been shown to improve academic achievement and behaviors of children and adolescents (5 to 18 years old) in multiple domains. It is intensive, with lessons at each grade level (from kindergarten to 12th) that are reinforced all day, schoolwide, at home, and in the community. It includes school, family, and community components that work together or can stand alone. For students, Positive Action improves:
PA improves school climate, attendance, achievement scores, disciplinary referrals/suspensions, parent and community involvement, services for special-need and high-risk students, efficiency and effectiveness. Positive Action positively affects instruction and classroom/school management skills of school personnel through improved self-concept, professionalism, and interpersonal/social skills and, in turn, has a positive impact on their personal lives. Finally, Positive Action helps families by improving parent-child relations and overall family attitudes toward and involvement in school and the community. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Promising Program: Department of Education Model Program: Department of Education, Title I Comprehensive School Reform Promising Practices: Education Commission of the States for Comprehensive School Reform Governor’s Award: Idaho Exemplary Substance Abuse Programs |
| Project ACHIEVE Universal Selective |
Project ACHIEVE is an innovative school reform and school effectiveness program developed for use in preschool, elementary, and middle schools (students 3 to 14 years old). It is designed to help schools, communities, and families develop, strengthen, and solidify their youth's resilience, protective factors, and self-management skills. Project ACHIEVE works to improve school and staff effectiveness, and places particular emphasis on increasing student performance in the areas of:
Project ACHIEVE implements schoolwide positive behavioral and academic prevention programs that focus on the needs of all students. It also develops and implements strategic intervention programs for at-risk and underachieving students, and it coordinates comprehensive and multifaceted "wrap-around" programs for students with intensive needs. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Program: White House Conference on School Safety Effective School Reform Program: Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice, American Institutes for Research |
| Project ALERT Universal Selective |
Project ALERT is a drug prevention curriculum for middle-school students (11 to 14 years old), which dramatically reduces both the onset and regular use of substances. The 2-year, 14-lesson program focuses on the substances that adolescents are most likely to use: alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and inhalants. Project Alert use participatory activities and videos to help:
Guided classroom discussions and small group activities stimulate peer interaction and challenge student beliefs and perceptions, while intensive role-playing activities help students learn and master resistance skills. Homework assignments that also involve parents extend the learning process by facilitating parent–child discussions of drugs and how to resist using them. These lessons are reinforced through videos that model appropriate behavior. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Program: U.S. Department of Education Exemplary Program: White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Exemplary Program: National Prevention Network, the National Association of State and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Endorsed by the National Middle School Association |
| Project EX |
Project EX is a school-based, tobacco-use cessation program for high school youth 14 to 19 years of age. The program is delivered in a clinic setting and involves enjoyable, motivating activities including games, talk shows, and alternative exercises such as yoga. At the completion of this program, youth will be able to--
The eight-session curriculum is delivered over a 6-week period and emphasizes coping with stress, dealing with nicotine withdrawal, relaxation techniques, and how to avoid relapse. The program builds interpersonal, coping, commitment-building, and decision-making skills, and provides training in self-control. Project EX was developed for high school youth who currently use tobacco and has been implemented with African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino and White youth, in suburban and urban locations. Project EX participants maintained a 17 percent quit rate 5 months after the program’s quit day compared to 8 percent of the control group. Project EX has been implemented with youth in Wuhan, China, and a classroom-based version of Project EX is currently being replicated with youth in alternative high schools. Program Development Support Project EX was developed through funding provided by the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP #6RT-0182). |
| Project Northland Universal |
Project Northland is a multilevel, multiyear program proven to delay the age at which young people begin drinking, reduce alcohol use among those who have already tried drinking, and limit the number of alcohol-related problems of young drinkers. Designed for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students (10 to 14 years old), Project Northland addresses both individual behavioral change and environmental change. Project Northland also strives to change how parents communicate with their children, how peers influence each other, and how communities respond to young adolescent alcohol use. Components include:
Each intervention year has an overall theme and is tailored to the developmental level of the young adolescent. Alcohol is the focus of the Project Northland program because it is American teenagers' drug of choice and inflicts the greatest harm among youth. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Program: U.S. Department of Education Rated "A": Drug Strategies, Making the Grade |
| Project SUCCESS Selective Indicated |
Project SUCCESS (Schools Using Coordinated Community Efforts to Strengthen Students) prevents and reduces substance use among high-risk, multiproblem high school adolescents. Developed and tested with alternative school youth 14 to 18 years old, the program places highly trained professionals in schools to provide a full range of substance use prevention and early intervention services. Counselors use a variety of intervention strategies, including:
In addition, Project SUCCESS links the school to the community’s continuum of care when necessary, referring both students and families to human services organizations, including substance abuse treatment agencies. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Project Toward No Drug Abuse (TND) Selective Indicated |
Project Toward No Drug Abuse (TND) is a highly interactive program designed to help high school youth (14 to 19 years old) resist substance use. A school-based program, TND consists of twelve 40- to 50-minute lessons that include motivational activities, social skills training, and decisionmaking components that are delivered through group discussions, games, role-playing exercise, videos, and student worksheets. Project TND teaches participants increased coping and self-control skills that allow them to:
Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Program: Health Canada Model Program: Sociometrics, Inc. |
| Project Towards No Tobacco Use (TNT) Universal |
Project Towards No Tobacco Use (TNT) is a comprehensive, classroom-based curriculum designed to prevent or reduce tobacco use in youth 10 to 15 years old in grades five through ten. Upon completion of this program, students will be able to describe the course of tobacco-addiction, the consequences of using tobacco, and the prevalence of tobacco use among peers. Delivered in 10 core and 2 booster lessons, TNT is proven effective at helping youth to:
Project TNT is designed to counteract several different causes of tobacco use simultaneously because the behavior is determined by multiple causes. This comprehensive approach works well for a wide variety of youth who may have different risk factors influencing their tobacco use. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Programs That Work: National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Program: U.S. Department of Education Programs That Work (Discontinued): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Project Venture Universal |
Project Venture (PV) is an outdoors experiential youth development program designed for high-risk American Indian youth that also has been proven successful with middle school-age youth from a variety of other ethnic groups. Project Venture aims to prevent substance use and related problems through--
The program relies on American Indian traditional values to help youth develop positive self-concept, effective social skills, a community service ethic, internal locus of control, and increased decision-making and problem-solving skills. Project Venture was designed for and tested with early adolescents in grades five through nine in American Indian school and community settings in rural and low socioeconomic areas and replicated in rural Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian settings and in urban American Indian settings. Program studies found that, compared to control group, PV participants initiated first substance use at an older age; significantly reduced lifetime tobacco and alcohol use; significantly reduced frequency of tobacco and inhalant use; demonstrate less depression and aggressive behavior, and; improved youths' school attendance. Program Development Support In 1990, NIYLP received its first SAMHSA/CSAP grant to implement Project Venture. The program has operated continuously since that time in Native communities, regionally, and nationally, with nearly 30 implementations in 11 States. PV has collected 14 years of data since the first CSAP grant and, in 2002 CSAP cross-site study, was named the most effective program of all those serving Native American populations. |
| Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Indicated |
Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy is a cognitive-behavioral treatment program for individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The program consists of a course of individual therapy designed to help clients process traumatic events and thus reduce trauma-induced psychological disturbances. Twenty years of research has shown that PE significantly reduces the symptoms of PTSD, depression, anger, and general anxiety. The standard treatment program consists of 9 to 12, 90-minute sessions. PE includes three components:
PE therapy reduces PTSD symptoms including intrusive thoughts, intense emotional distress, nightmares and flashbacks, avoidance, emotional numbing and loss of interest, sleep disturbance, concentration impairment, irritability and anger, hypervigilance and excessive startle response. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Exemplary Service and Support to Victims and Witnesses of Crime Award: Philadelphia Coalition for Victim Advocacy |
| Protecting You/Protecting Me® Universal |
Protecting You/Protecting Me® (PY/PM) is a 5-year, classroom-based alcohol-use prevention curriculum for elementary students in grades one through five (6 to 11 years old) and high school students in 11th and 12th grade (16-18 years). Designed to reduce alcohol-related injury and death in our Nation's youth, PY/PM:
The curriculum:
The program can be taught by trained high school students, as well as by teachers. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse State Wide Replication Program Endorsed by the National Elementary Principals Association Endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics |
| Reconnecting Youth (RY) Indicated |
Reconnecting Youth (RY) is a school-based prevention program for youth in grades nine through twelve (14 to 18 years old) who are at risk for school dropout. These youth may also exhibit multiple behavior problems, such as substance abuse, aggression, depression, or suicide risk behaviors. Reconnecting Youth uses a partnership model involving peers, school personnel, and parents to deliver interventions that address the three central program goals:
Students work toward these goals by participating in a semester-long high school class that involves skills training in the context of a positive peer culture. RY students learn, practice, and apply self-esteem enhancement strategies, decision-making skills, personal control strategies, and interpersonal communication techniques. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Programs That Work: National Institute on Drug Abuse Grade "A" & "A+": Drug Strategies |
| Residential Student Assistance Program (RSAP) Selective Indicated |
The Residential Student Assistance Program (RSAP) is a substance abuse prevention program developed for high-risk adolescents (14 to 17 years old) living in residential facilities. The program is based on the Westchester Student Assistance Model and works by placing highly trained professionals in residential facilities to provide residents with a full range of substance abuse prevention and early intervention services. The program uses proven prevention strategies that include:
RSAP counselors work with adolescents individually and in small groups. Intervention services are fully integrated into the adolescent’s overall experience at the residential facility and have an impact on both their school and residential environments. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways--RiPP Universal |
Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RiPP) is a school-based violence prevention program designed to provide students in middle and junior high schools with conflict resolution strategies and skills. It combines a classroom curriculum of social/cognitive problem solving with real-life skill-building opportunities such as peer mediation. Students learn to apply critical thinking skills and personal management strategies to personal health and well-being issues. Delivered over 3 years, RiPP teaches key concepts that include:
Using a variety of lessons and activities, students learn about the physical and mental development that occurs during adolescence; analyze the consequences of personal choices on health and well-being; learn that they have nonviolent options when conflicts arise; and evaluate the benefits of being a positive family and community role model. In a within-school evaluation of RIPP, compared to control students, RIPP-6 students at post-test were significantly less likely to have disciplinary code violations for carrying weapons, were less likely to have in-school suspensions, had lower reported rates of fight-related injuries, and were more likely to participate in their school’s peer-mediation program. RIPP-7 participants showed a significant increase in their knowledge of curriculum material and a trend for greater decreases in anxiety. At 6-month follow-up, RIPP-7 students reported lower rates of peer pressure to use drugs, and showed a significant increase in prosocial responses to hypothetical problem situations. In another study, compared to students at control schools, students at intervention schools reported more favorable attitudes toward nonviolence, less favorable attitudes toward violence, and greater knowledge of the material covered in the intervention. Significant differences on the frequency of aggression were found at post-test. An evaluation of RIPP-8 is currently underway. Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Effective Program: Safe and Drug Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education |
| SAFE Children: Schools and Families Educating Children Universal Selective |
SAFE Children is a community- and school-based program that helps families manage educational and child development in communities where children are at high risk for substance abuse and other problem behaviors. It is based on a developmental-ecological model that looks at how neighborhood and school characteristics affect children and families, children's school achievement, their social adjustment, and their maturation. The program aims to help children 5 to 6 years old make the transition into elementary school, have a successful first year, and set a strong base for the future. Families with children entering first grade and living in inner-city, high-risk neighborhoods are enrolled in a 20-week family program that aims to:
Recognition Model Program: Substance Abuse and Mental Health S |