Keeping Score 1998

Drug Strategies

Keeping Score 1998

Prevention Programs

Keeping Score highlights a number of prevention, treatment and criminal justice programs for girls, women and their families in communities across the country. Only a few have been rigorously evaluated; when services are scarce, as they have traditionally been for women, funds for research and evaluation are rarely available. However, based on the experience of the past decade, we believe the programs we describe point the way for future efforts.

Nationwide
MADD About Drunk Driving
Three in five Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash in their lifetime, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). But this startling figure will be reduced if it's up to Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Founded in 1980 by a woman whose daughte rwas killed by a drunk driver, MADD is dedicated to stopping drunk driving and supporting its victims. A nonprofit, grassroots organization, MADD has been instrumental in the passage of more than 2,200 anti-drunk driving laws. The group's current efforts are focused on passing a national law to lower the legal blood alcohol content limit to .08, while a long-term goal is to help NHTSA reduce alcohol-related fatalities by nearly 60 percent between 1990 and 2005. MADD administers a national hotline for drunk driving victims, regularly publishes a report on each state's effort to fight drunk driving, and organizes national public awareness campaigns, such as designated driver programs. The organization also runs youth programs that target underage drinking and impaired driving. These are just a few of MADD's many initiatives. Today MADD has more than 600 chapters and more than 3 million supporters nationwide. Financial support comes primarily from private donations, with some assistance from the U.S. Department of Transportation. For further information, call (214) 744-MADD.

Nationwide
Building Friendships to Fight Drugs
As every parent of a teenager knows, friends can make or break a young person's decision to use drugs or alcohol. That's why Girls, Incorporated-a nonprofit organization dedicated to girls' well-being-created Friendly PEERsuasion. Since 1989, this innovative nationwide program has helped pre-teen and adolescent girls understand the harmful effects of drug use and negative peer pressure. At the same time, Friendly PEERsuasion helps girls build healthy friendships while developing skills in the areas of communication, leadership and stress management. An evaluation of Friendly PEERsuasion proves the program achieves results. Participants were less likely to use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (22 percent) than nonparticipants (40 percent), and just 4 percent of participants who finished the program remained in situations where friends engaged in drug use, compared to 14 percent of nonparticipants. Friendly PEERsuasion has received funding from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the Nancy Reagan Foundation, and the W.T. Grant Foundation. The program has been featured in The Baltimore Sun, The Seattle Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. To learn more about this unique program for girls, call (317)634-7546.

Nationwide
Empowering Girls to Resist Drugs
Upon entering adolescence, many girls lose self-confidence, grow less physically active and perform less well in school. To counter this troubling phenomenon, which has been documented in numerous studies, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created Girl Power! in 1996. This national public education campaign communicates health messages that address girls' unique needs and interests, while encouraging girls aged 9-14 to make the most of their lives. Substance abuse prevention is a key emphasis. Girl Power! teaches girls from a wide range of backgrounds about the harms of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, while helping them improve academic skills and self-confidence, excel in the arts and get involved in sports. Parents, schools, religious organizations, health providers and other adults assist in providing positive messages and health-related information. Promoted by Dominique Dawes, 1996 Olympic gymnastics gold medalist, Girl Power! is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and supported by over 100 private and public partners. To learn more, call (301) 443-0373.

Washington, DC
Mobile Counseling for Prostitutes
Every night, roughly 500 prostitutes work the streets of the nation's capital. Drug use runs rampant among them, and just one advocacy organization in the city addresses their needs: Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (HIPS). Every Friday and Saturday from 10:30 p.m. until 5:00 a.m., HIPS workers travel the streets in a mobile unit, dispensing condoms, coffee, hot cocoa and on-the-spot professional counseling. In addition to referring prostitutes to drug treatment programs and other resources, HIPS provides free HIV testing (one-fourth of Washington's prostitutes are HIV-positive), a 24-hour hotline, a drop-in center, food, clothing and legal help. Each year HIPS makes contact with an estimated 3,000 prostitutes. Since the organization's creation in August 1993, HIPS has helped some 100 teenagers escape from prostitution. HIPS' support comes from a variety of sources, including churches, foundations and a 4-H grant administered by the University of the District of Columbia. A sergeant from the Metropolitan Police Department serves on HIPS' Board of Directors to ensure cooperation between the program and law enforcement. For more information, call (202) 543-5262.

Rural Illinois
Drug Prevention for Pregnant Teens
When teens visit clinics in rural Southern Illinois, there's no time for flipping through magazines in the waiting room. An innovative drug prevention program sees to it that their time is better spent. While the mothers-to-be wait to see the doctor, nurses teach them about the dangerous impacts of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs on their developing babies and their own bodies. The nurses use a curriculum that aims to reduce drug and alcohol use among pregnant teenagers and improve birth outcomes. Called the Adolescent Substance Prevention Education Network (ASPEN), the eight-module curriculum was designed in 1989 by the Shawnee/Adolescent Health Center in collaboration with Anna Rural Health, Inc. and Community Health and Emergency Service. The curriculum is clearly needed. A 1992 study of 293 pregnant teens in the Mississippi Delta region found that 24.4 percent smoke cigarettes, 20.4 percent had consumed alcohol in the previous five months, and 5.2 percent had used marijuana during the same period. Statistics like these help explain why clinics in 11 other states have purchased ASPEN's manual to help prevent drug use among their pregnant teenage patients. To learn more about ASPEN, call (618) 529-2621.

Next Section

Spotlight | Methadone Maintenance Treatment | Welfare Reform and Drug Abuse
Women and Drug Abuse: Court Innovations

Programs | Prevention Programs | Pregnant and Parenting Women's Programs
Family Treatment Programs| Criminal Justice Programs

Also available, for easy printing...
Keeping Score 1998, Acrobat version
(1MB PDF file) Acrobat Reader 3.0 required