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Dare Program

D.A.R.E. Program

Describe the Policy:
The D.A.R.E. Program was created to help youths say “no to drugs”. “Started in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. School Districts, DARE has quickly become the nation's standard anti-drug curriculum.”(Glass 1997) The D.A.R.E program represents an agreement between local schools and their local law enforcement officers. However, the D.A.R.E program on a national scale is ran by D.A.R.E America, which receives input from state and local communities on how they feel the D.A.R.E program should be working.(Gist 2001) “The primary goal of D.A.R.E. Program is to prevent substance abuse among schoolchildren and help them develop effective gang and violence resistance techniques.”(Gist 2001) The D.A.R.E. Program has configured objectives that each D.A.R.E. officer must try to accomplished with its students. According to D.A.R.E lessons the objectives of each D.ARE officer is: Enhancing self-esteem, Learning assertiveness techniques, Learning about positive alternatives to substance use, Learning anger management and conflict resolution skills, Developing risk assessment and decision making skills, Reducing violence, Building interpersonal and communications skills, Resisting gang involvement. (Gist 2001) The D.A.R.E program has six unique curriculum and one parent component that helps children of all ages stay away from tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and gangs. The core curriculum that the DARE program is the one that most of us are familiar with. The DARE core curriculum is taught by a trained DARE officer to 5th and 6th graders throughout the country. “The core curriculum includes one lesson each week for 17 consecutive weeks.”(Gist 2001) In these lessons the DARE officers try to use many different teaching styles such as “question-and-answer sessions, group discussions, role-playing, and workbook exercises.”(Gist 2001) The second DARE curriculum that is often used...

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