CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE
105th Congress (1998)
SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES:
COORDINATOR INITIATIVE (3/12/98)
The 1998 National Drug Control Strategy has proposed a new initiative to fund $50 million for drug and violence prevention program coordinators in middle schools across the country.
BACKGROUND
This new, major initiative, proposed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) would be responsible for developing, conducting and analyzing assessments of their schools' drug and crime problems. It would also identify promising, research-based drug and violence prevention strategies and programs to address those problems; and, assist teachers, coaches, counselors and other school officials in adopting and implementing those programs and strategies.
The initiative would be funded through a grant competition under the Safe and Drug-Free schools national programs, and would target funds on middle schools with the worst drug and violence problems. At the proposed funding level, this initiative would support approximately 1,300 coordinators. Assuming that each coordinator will be able to serve five separate schools, the 1999 $50 million budget request for FY 1999 would fund coordinators for 6,500 middle schools -- almost one-half of the middle schools in the country.
The coordinator initiative included in President Clinton's budget request for the Safe and Drug Free Schools program.
NCADD supports the funding and implementation of this new program.
For more information on this legislation, contact the Public Policy Office via e-mail at publicpolicy@ncadd.org.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Write to your senators and representative (sample letter below) and urge
them to support the president's budget request for the Safe and Drug Free Schools program, and to include $50 million for the school drug prevention coordinators. Or e-mail your senators and representative at:
The U. S. House of Representatives and The U. S. Senate.
Sample Letter
The Honorable --
United States Senate (House of Representatives)
Washington, D.C. 20520 (20515)
Dear Senator: (Dear Representative:)
The Office of National Drug Control Policy has proposed an
initiative to fund Safe and Drug-Free Schools coordinators
to help prevent our young people from starting to use drugs.
I strongly urge you to sponsor this important initiative in
the Senate (House of Representatives).
Drug use, including alcohol, remains at frighteningly high
levels. In the 1997 Monitoring the Future study, conducted
annually by the University of Michigan, it was reported that
in the 30 days prior to being asked, 24.5 percent of 8th
graders had consumed some amount of alcohol, 8.2 percent had
gotten drunk, and 10.2 percent had used marijuana.
It is clear that we need to find more ways to target this age
group. The ONDCP proposal would fund 1,300 coordinators to
work with 6,500 middle schools -- almost one-half of the
middle schools in the United States. The coordinators would
assist teachers, coaches, counselors and other school officials in identifying and implementing programs effective programs. They would also assist in developing strategies to evaluate the programs.
Agencies such as (name of Affiliate) are working with
schools and communities to prevent young people from ever starting to use drugs. The middle school drug coordinator initiative will be one more useful tool for us to use to reach students who are at a very vulnerable age.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,