Attorney General Janet Reno, Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and General Barry McCaffrey, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, argued that our ability to end the intergenerational cycle of addiction and violence in the United States depends on adoption of such a systems approach. We must treat crime and drug use as interrelated problems instead of regarding them as isolated behaviors. For maximum effectiveness, agencies and communities need to use a systems approach and cooperate and collaborate at every point in the process, from planning to implementation to project evaluation. Prevention efforts must start early and be comprehensive. These programs need to bring together community leaders from different sectors, including educators, social workers, parks and recreation personnel, and law enforcement staff.
Intervention requires cooperation from the very beginning.
For example, if a mother fails to respond when a school calls about a truant child, a community team should be ready to respond. Similarly, a case of domestic violence in a hospital emergency room should trigger a substance abuse intervention. Enforcement must be smart. After creating a common database, for example, state, federal, and local authorities can hire expert analysts to find patterns in drug use and identify the major drug organizations for law enforcement. Reno cited the success of the nation's drug courts, which place first-time drug offenders in compulsory treatment and supervision instead of jail.