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Substance Abuse

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Substance Abuse Prevention Programs: Operation, Funding, and Effectiveness.
Candace Taylor
Grand Canyon University
Author Note
All correspondence to this research should be forwarded to Candace Taylor.

Substance abuse has become a serious issue in America. More and more of America’s youth are starting to use drugs than usual. To prevent this, there are many substance abuse prevention programs that are in place to try and prevent this before it even begins. Three programs were examined for this research paper. Those programs are DARE, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and SADD. In this paper, the mission, funding and effectiveness of each program will be discussed. DARE
DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a program created to bring awareness of drug abuse with youth in communities. The mission of this program is to teach kids how to make the right decisions and live a drug free, healthy life. “D.A.R.E. is the national symbol for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program which, in partnership with police officers, parents and schools is in use throughout the United States.”(DARE.org). The DARE program is funded by federal government resources and private contributors. A few studies were conducted on the effectiveness of this program. Dr. Ismail Sahin conducted an effective DARE program. “This study has showed that while some research studies found a positive effect of the DARE program, some studies found no significant impact at all” (Sahin 2014). There were several reason in this study why the DARE program was effective and ineffective in some areas. One reason in particular stood out the most. “One reason for this failure is importing and implementing the same DARE program without taking into consideration the specific characteristics of the schools or school environments.” (Sahin 2014). The DARE program should do research on the surrounding area or city where it is being used. The program should see what drugs or abuse is being used or done and focus more on the issues faced in that specific community.
Partnership for Drug-Free Kids
Partnership for drug-free kids is a non-profit organization funded by the federal and private contributors. They support and generosity of the funder and funds with the program in fundraising appeals. Eighty percent goes to the program for families. The operating budget is 8.8 million into more than fifteen its impact. This program educates kids and families the importance of being drug free and different ways to live a life as such. This program has been around, serving kids and families for almost 30 years. “Founded in 1987 as an anti-drug advertising campaign and formerly known as the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, we are a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing teen substance abuse and helping families impacted by addiction.” (www.Drugfree.org). Partnership for Drug-Free Kids is closely monitored by the government. This program follows standards per law. “The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids adheres to charity management and fundraising standards and consistently receives high marks from charity-monitoring and watchdog agencies like the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance and Charity Navigator. Our volunteer board of directors is active and independent, providing oversight over operations and staff.” (Financials 2014). Partnership for drug-free kids is a well-known and respected program that many find affective. The advertising is created for Drug-Free America, which is an effective agency. On their website, there are many guides and resources accessible to parents and kids to learn different ways to prevent drug use.
SADD. SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions, mission is to provide students with the best prevention tools possible to deal with the issues of drinking, other drug use, risky and impaired driving, and other destructive decisions. “Through their campaigns and activities, SADD chapters influence millions of people in schools, families, local community organizations, businesses, law enforcement agencies, and the media.”(ww.sadd.org). SADD has been a very successful prevention program. It has been so successful that they have decided to continue to use this program in the next level after secondary education. This study investigated a selected number of freshmen that were SADD. The study influenced the behavior of alcohol use by freshmen. It influenced the peer-to-peer education program SADD. SADD is funded through several channels. “Over the past years, SADD has worked hard to diversify and maintain a healthy revenue mix which includes government and state contracts, corporate partnerships, foundation grants, Board and individual giving, and royalties gained from the sale of SADD custom products and various educational materials.”(SADD Privacy Policy 2014).
Conclusion
In conclusion to this paper one can better understand the missions of these substance abuse prevention programs. One can also understand the effectiveness and funding of these programs. Many programs depend on federal government and private funding to keep these programs going. The mission of all these programs are similar and aim for the same outcome. Which is to prevent illicit drug use and bring awareness to the community. Parents should be more active in implementing these programs in the home and not just at school. That alone can make most of these programs more effective.

References
D.A.R.E. America Policies & Procedures - D.A.R.E. America. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.dare.org/d-a-r-e-america-policies-procedures/
Financials. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://www.drugfree.org/financials-2/
Leonard, B. (2011). What works: Effective public health responses to drug use (p. 6). DIANE Publishing.
Robert J Larson, "Students against Destructive Decisions (SADD) transition from high school to college: Northeast college freshmen and their experiences with alcohol" (January 1, 2006). Dissertation & Theses Collection. Paper AAI3234953. http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/dissertations/AAI3234953 Sahin, I., & Karapazarlioglu, E. (2014). THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SCHOOL-BASED DRUG RESISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES. European Scientific Journal, 10(5).
Value of SADD. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://www.sadd.org/value.htm

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