Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.).


MENU TITLE: D.A.R.E. Fact Sheet
Series: BJA
Published: September 1995
6 pages
15,016 bytes

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Fact Sheet

Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)

Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is a
validated, copyrighted, comprehensive drug and
violence prevention education program for children
in kindergarten through 12th grade. D.A.R.E.
represents a collaborative effort between school
and law enforcement personnel. The program is
nationally coordinated by D.A.R.E. America, with
input received from State and local agencies and
communities.

The D.A.R.E. curriculum is designed to equip
elementary, middle, and high school students with
the appropriate skills to resist substance abuse,
violence, and gangs. More than 22,000
community-oriented law enforcement officers from
7,000 communities throughout the country have
taught the core curriculum to more than 25 million
elementary school students. In 1995 alone, it is
expected that 5.5 million children representing
250,000 classrooms will receive the core
curriculum. An additional 20 million students will
be influenced by the D.A.R.E. components of
kindergarten through fourth grade visitation
lessons, junior and senior high curriculums, the
special education curriculum, the parent program,
and the D.A.R.E.+ P.L.U.S. (Play and Learn Under
Supervision) afterschool activity program.

D.A.R.E. is taught by law enforcement officers in
19 countries and is being implemented in Department
of Defense Dependent Schools worldwide.

Program Objectives

The primary goals of D.A.R.E. are to prevent
substance abuse among schoolchildren and help them
develop effective gang and violence resistance
techniques. The core curriculum targets young
children to prepare them to avoid substance abuse
and violence as they enter adolescence. D.A.R.E.
lessons focus on the following objectives for all
children:

qo  Acquiring the knowledge and skills to recognize
and resist peer pressure to experiment with
tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.

o  Enhancing self-esteem.

o  Learning assertiveness techniques.

o  Learning about positive alternatives to
substance use.

o  Learning anger management and conflict
resolution skills.

o  Developing risk assessment and decisionmaking
skills.

o  Reducing violence.

o  Building interpersonal and communications
skills.

o  Resisting gang involvement.

D.A.R.E. achieves these objectives by training
carefully selected law enforcement officers to
teach a structured, sequential curriculum in the
schools.  An important byproduct of D.A.R.E. is the
impact made by these uniformed officers, who work
onsite in the classroom, as positive role models
for the students. In addition, in every component
except the parent program, a certified teacher is
required to be present at all times as an active
participant in the D.A.R.E. program.

D.A.R.E. Curriculum

The D.A.R.E. curriculum is continuously enhanced
and expanded to more effectively meet the needs of
children. Following are the current D.A.R.E.
components.

Core Curriculum. Delivered by a D.A.R.E. officer to
fifth and sixth grade students, the core curriculum
includes one lesson each week for 17 consecutive
weeks. A number of teaching techniques are used,
including question-and-answer sessions, group
discussions, role-playing, and workbook exercises.

Kindergarten Through Fourth Grade Visitation
Lessons. As time permits, officers teaching the
core curriculum can visit students in each of the
lower grades to introduce younger students to the
D.A.R.E. concept. The 15- to 20-minute lessons
cover such topics as obeying laws, personal safety,
and the helpful and harmful uses of medicines and
drugs.

Junior High Curriculum. The D.A.R.E. junior high
curriculum emphasizes information and skills that
enable students to resist peer pressure and
negative influences in making personal choices. The
10 lessons concentrate on helping students manage
their feelings of anger and aggression and on
showing them how to resolve conflicts without
resorting to violence or to the use of alcohol or
drugs.

Senior High Curriculum. The D.A.R.E. senior high
curriculum focuses on the everyday situations that
high school students encounter. For the first five
lessons, a D.A.R.E. officer and a high school
teacher use the technique of team teaching. They
emphasize information and skills that enable
students to act in their own best interests when
facing high-risk, low-gain choices and to handle
feelings of anger properly without causing harm to
themselves or others. Five followup lessons,
presented by the teacher, serve to reinforce the
initial lessons.

Special Education Curriculum. The D.A.R.E.
Midwestern Regional Training Center, administered
by the Illinois State Police, has adapted the
D.A.R.E. curriculum for special populations.
D.A.R.E. officers receive specialized training that
prepares them to teach the 17-week core curriculum
in special classrooms to children with learning
disabilities and behavioral disorders.

Parent Component. The D.A.R.E. parent component was
developed to address the growing need for
comprehensive family support and involvement in
school programs. It is intended for any adult
interested in ensuring health, safety, and
development of life skills for children. The
program provides information on communication and
self-esteem building, risk factors associated with
young children, basic facts on drug usage and the
stages of adolescent chemical dependency,
protective factors and sources of pressure,
violence and conflict resolution, and agency
networking in the community. The sessions offer
participants the opportunity to become more
involved in D.A.R.E. and give them access to
community resources. The program consists of six
2-hour sessions, usually held in the evening, that
are conducted by a certified D.A.R.E. officer.

D.A.R.E.+ P.L.U.S. Component. This component was
initiated in 1993 on a pilot basis at Marina del
Rio School in Los Angeles, California. It was
created as an extension of the successful D.A.R.E.
program and is designed to help sixth, seventh, and
eighth graders stay involved in school and away
from gangs, drugs, and violence. D.A.R.E.+ P.L.U.S.
provides students with a wide range of educational,
vocational, and recreational afterschool activities
in a safe and well-supervised campus setting.

Critical Program Elements

The following 12 elements are considered essential
for the creation of a successful D.A.R.E. program.

Joint planning. Involvement and collaboration of
law enforcement and education agencies should begin
early in the planning process.

Written agreement. Law enforcement and education
agencies should establish a contract that spells
out mutual commitment, respective police and school
roles, and partnership responsibility.

Officer selection. The officer selection process
should involve screening and police-school panel
interviews of officer candidates.

Officer training. Intensive seminars should be
jointly conducted at accredited training centers by
specially trained law enforcement and education
personnel.

Curriculum. The tested and validated D.A.R.E.
curriculum should be faithfully replicated.

Classroom instruction. Classroom instruction should
follow the format described earlier in this fact
sheet and should be taught by trained law
enforcement officers, with assistance from
certified teachers.

Officer appraisal. Procedures that monitor and
assess an officer's classroom performance should be
established.

Informal officer-student interaction. The program
should include time for the officer to interact
informally with the students on the playground, in
the cafeteria, and at student assemblies.

Teacher orientation. At the beginning of the school
year, an orientation should be conducted in which
the D.A.R.E. officer familiarizes teachers with the
D.A.R.E. curriculum and explains officer and
teacher roles.

Inservice training. Continued officer training
should be provided to ensure effectiveness,
accuracy, and currency in teaching strategies.

Parent education. Each semester, a parent education
evening should be held in which the D.A.R.E.
officer explains the program and gives parents the
opportunity to review the curriculum. In addition,
a parent component, as outlined earlier in this
fact sheet, should be developed.

Community presentations. Police, educators, and
others committed to the success of the D.A.R.E.
effort should meet with groups from all segments of
the community to promote understanding and support.

Regional Training Centers

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S.
Department of Justice, provides Federal
discretionary funding to the five D.A.R.E. Regional
Training Centers (RTC's) to support technical
assistance, training, and accreditation of State
training facilities. Working in conjunction with
D.A.R.E. America, the nonprofit organization that
legally owns and is responsible for overseeing the
D.A.R.E. program and for maintaining up-to-date
curriculum, the RTC's provide:

o  D.A.R.E. officer training seminars for new
D.A.R.E. officers who will teach the core
curriculum.

o  D.A.R.E. inservice training for experienced
D.A.R.E. officers.

o  Mentor officer training for experienced D.A.R.E.
officers who will train new D.A.R.E. officers.

o  D.A.R.E. parent program training for instructors
who work with and train parents.

o  D.A.R.E. junior high/middle school program
training.

o  D.A.R.E. senior high program training.

o  Program development.

o  Accreditation of law enforcement agencies as
D.A.R.E. Training Centers.

o  Assessments of State D.A.R.E. Training Centers.

o  Monitoring and technical assistance for law
enforcement agencies that are developing the
D.A.R.E. program in their communities across the
country. 

Law enforcement agencies interested in obtaining
D.A.R.E. training or answers to questions about
local D.A.R.E. programs may contact the appropriate
D.A.R.E. RTC, as follows:

D.A.R.E. Eastern Regional Training Center
Virginia State Police
7700 Midlothian Turnpike
Richmond, VA 23235
804-674-2238

The D.A.R.E. Eastern RTC serves Connecticut,
Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

D.A.R.E. Southeastern Regional Training Center
North Carolina Bureau of Investigation
3320 Old Garner Road
Raleigh, NC 27610
919-662-4500

The D.A.R.E. Southeastern RTC serves Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. 

D.A.R.E. Midwestern Regional Training Center
Illinois State Police Academy D.A.R.E. Bureau
3700 East Lakeshore Drive
Springfield, IL 62707
217-786-7026

The D.A.R.E. Midwestern RTC serves Arkansas,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Virgin Islands, and
Wisconsin.

D.A.R.E. Southwest Regional Training Center
Arizona Department of Public Safety
Suite 290
3110 North 19th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85015
602-223-2544

The D.A.R.E. Southwestern RTC serves Alaska,
Arizona, American Samoa, Colorado, Kansas,
Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota,
Texas, and Utah.

D.A.R.E. Western Regional Training Center
City of Los Angeles Police Department
3353 San Fernando Road
Los Angeles, CA 90065
213-485-4856

The D.A.R.E. Western RTC serves California, Hawaii,
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon,
Washington, and Wyoming.

Program Assessment

D.A.R.E. is the largest and most widely implemented
drug and violence prevention program in the world.
It has become recognized as a key element of
community-based policing efforts.

In July 1993, a Gallup Poll Survey of more than
2,000 D.A.R.E. graduates was conducted. The results
showed that more than 90 percent of the graduates
felt that D.A.R.E. assisted them in avoiding drugs
and alcohol. The program also was credited with
increasing self-esteem and ability to deal with
peer pressure. Graduates reported that they had
used one or two of the avoidance techniques taught
to them by their D.A.R.E. officers.

More recently, a research study sponsored by the
National Institute of Justice and conducted by the
Research Triangle Institute indicated that D.A.R.E.
is "currently our Nation's predominant school-based
prevention program, and both its prevalence and
popularity continue to expand." The appeal of
D.A.R.E. cuts across racial, ethnic, and
socioeconomic lines, and student receptivity to
D.A.R.E. was rated higher than for other prevention
programs. D.A.R.E. is strongly supported by school
staff, students, parents, and the community.
Ratings of other substance abuse prevention
programs were also high, but approval of D.A.R.E.
was substantially stronger.

On the basis of continual assessments and feedback
from the field, the D.A.R.E. program has been
expanded to a full continuum of curricula offering
training to children in kindergarten through 12th
grade, so that the lessons learned in earlier
grades are reinforced as students encounter peer
pressure to become involved in drugs, alcohol, and
high-risk behavior. The D.A.R.E. curriculum also
has been revised to be more interactive through
promoting active participation by students.

Funding

States can apply for Federal funds through the
Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law
Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program. The
States make subawards to State and local agencies
for drug and crime prevention and control programs
and for criminal justice system improvements. The
funds may be used for any of 26 authorized purpose
areas, one of which is "demand reduction education
programs in which law enforcement officers
participate," such as D.A.R.E. Any community
interested in obtaining funding for a D.A.R.E.
program should contact its State office responsible
for administration of the Formula Grant Program.
The addresses and telephone numbers of the State
offices are available from the Bureau of Justice
Assistance Clearinghouse or the U.S. Department of
Justice Response Center, as provided at right.

For Further Information

For additional information about the D.A.R.E.
program, contact:
D.A.R.E. America
Suite 401
9800 La Cienga Boulevard
Inglewood, CA 90301
310-215-0575

Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
800-688-4252

U.S. Department of Justice Response Center
800-421-6770

For additional information about D.A.R.E. program
assessment, contact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance
Evaluation Unit
202-307-5974

National Institute of Justice
Evaluation Division
202-307-2942