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Main Page D.a.r.e
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Posted by: benike84

I have to write a research paper on the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program. I was wondering if some of you could give me a brief summary of your particular departments (non)success with the program. Do you still have it? If not why was it discontinued? Do you believe it had any impact on the kids? How could it have been improved? I appreciate the help. Thanks

Posted by: kttref

My department does not have one. The board of Ed had said "no way"...basically their point of view is that my town does not have a drug/drinking problem...if only they knew how wrong they were. Now, I'm not saying it would work, but I'm saying, we have never even gotten the chance.

Posted by: Andy0921

Kids will be kids....I think kids need a program in high school were they actually start to experience peer pressure and other bull shit that turn them into disrespectful punks. A lot of towns have Dare in 5th grade and usually, I would hope, kids don't have alcohol and drugs problems at that age. How ever, there starting younger and younger these days.

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Posted by: adroitcuffs

D.A.R.E. is a highly effective education program which unfortunately has suffered the effects of common misconceptions. The purpose is not solely to teach kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, but more importantly, how and why to make good decisions. Many communities only teach it at one grade level, although there is curriculum for grades K-12. Ideally, the skills should be taught before the child encounters the all-too-common negative aspect of peer pressure, hence the history of focusing on the 5th/6th grade level curriculum. D.A.R.E. has been effective and well-received in my community. That's not to say that everyone at the school district administration has been completely supportive. In a discussion with a district administrator, he complained that "some of our kids are still using drugs." In my city, a significant number of the students come from addictive homes (of varying socio-economic levels). How delicate a situation, to teach a child about decision making and the dangers of drugs and alcohol, only to send them home to the antithesis of what has been taught. D.A.R.E. officers are one facet of a child's life.

D.A.R.E. was never meant to be a panacea to cure all of a community's ills. It is a valuable education program that can empower kids to make positive choices. It helps build the relationship between law enforcement and the community, allowing kids to interact with an officer in a non-confrontational setting. As a D.A.R.E. officer, I believe I have made a difference. I have never worked so hard and had so much fun. I love working patrol (and have a very good reputation as a street cop) but have been truly amazed at my experience in the schools. Not everyone is cut out to be a D.A.R.E. officer, just as not everyone is cut out to be in any other specialized detail. Part of the success or failure of any program is reliant upon the individual(s) assigned to the task. I can give you stories of success and failure witnessed in my own students. I've had several parents tell me that it was I who was responsible for their child being able to do the "right thing". I don't feel I can take credit for their success. I may have planted the seed but there are others who watered that seed along the way and helped it grow. Yes, I have even arrested a couple of my former students. Am I, or the D.A.R.E. program to blame for their failure? I think not. Interestingly enough, those former students admitted that they would not be in the situations they were in if they'd followed the skills I had taught.

I know when the MA governor's office cut funding for D.A.R.E., some municipalities eliminated the program, citing the loss of said funding. Yet across the US, most agencies run very successful programs without such government funding. Some officers believe so strongly in the program and it's benefits, they volunteer their time to teach the curriculum.

I don't know the purpose or scope of your research, but I hope your research will include actually going into at least a few classrooms with a D.A.R.E. officer so that you can see what can be difficult to put into text. I believe there is much to the benefits of D.A.R.E. that cannot truly be quantified. It seems easy to quantify failures, more difficult to quantify success. Feel free to e-mail me or p.m. me if I can be of further assistance.

Posted by: djgj200

Quote:

Originally Posted by benike84

I have to write a research paper on the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program. I was wondering if some of you could give me a brief summary of your particular departments (non)success with the program. Do you still have it? If not why was it discontinued? Do you believe it had any impact on the kids? How could it have been improved? I appreciate the help. Thanks

You should get a hold of Marlborough PD. They no longer have it because they said it doesn't work.

PM me if you want the Detective's name that was the D.A.R.E. Officer if you wanna get a hold of her.

Posted by: bspd103

D.A.R.E. can work if you get the support from your department. If your department just makes a half @$$ attempt at a program, then you're not going to get good results.
I teach it in Boston and I get a workbook and that's about it, I had to buy items myself and download information and pictures to share with the kids. Because the book stuff is pretty dry and you need to add your own twist. Finally, I got T-Shirts for upcoming classes.
I've seen towns with D.A.R.E. cars and giveaways that give the kids a good feeling about the program. While our kids in Boston need this program and money isn't put into a program such as this. We sent about 12 people to training, about 9 passed the training, about 5 have since left the department and a couple will never teach the program because they aren't comfortable with the curriculum.
The program is more about giving kids the confidence to say "no" and less about just saying it's bad for you. Which it used to be back in the earlier days of the program. I had it in school and I was told about the effects and how it made you feel. When they tell you that you'll have a euphoric (sp?) feeling, what person wouldn't want that. The relationships that I built with kids means more than anything, because it's not often that a parent comes to you to say thank you because you helped their child. Especially not in this business we're all in.

Posted by: CJIS

Our town has a different program. It deals with adolescent life. "Life Skills" It covers just about everything and is taught in several grades all the way through high school. It is done by the School Resources Officer and the School Physiologist. Best part about it is the funds come from a state grant.

Posted by: benike84

Thanks for all the input. It is going to be a real big help.

Posted by: adroitcuffs

Quote:

Originally Posted by npd_323

Our town has a different program. It deals with adolescent life. "Life Skills" It covers just about everything and is taught in several grades all the way through high school. It is done by the School Resources Officer and the School Physiologist. Best part about it is the funds come from a state grant.

"Life Skills" is one of many programs with an author that compares his/her program to DARE (interesting that they'll malign DARE, yet use DARE as the standard to which they compare). Nearly all of the studies that Dr. Botvin (the author) cites to support the effectiveness of his program have his name attached to it!!

Sadly, the last part of your quote is often the focus... government money does not make a program better for our communities but too many only have $$ in their eyes.

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