D.A.R.E. Fact Sheet
 
Series: BJA Published: September 1995 6 pages 15,016 bytes
 
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Fact Sheet
 
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)
 
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is a validated, 
copyrighted, comprehensive drug and violence prevention education 
program for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. D.A.R.E. 
represents a collaborative effort between school and law 
enforcement personnel. The program is nationally coordinated by 
D.A.R.E. America, with input received from State and local 
agencies and communities.
 
The D.A.R.E. curriculum is designed to equip elementary, middle, 
and high school students with the appropriate skills to resist 
substance abuse, violence, and gangs. More than 22,000 community-
oriented law enforcement officers from 7,000 communities 
throughout the country have taught the core curriculum to more 
than 25 million elementary school students. In 1995 alone, it is 
expected that 5.5 million children representing 250,000 
classrooms will receive the core curriculum. An additional 20 
million students will be influenced by the D.A.R.E. components of 
kindergarten through fourth grade visitation lessons, junior and 
senior high curriculums, the special education curriculum, the 
parent program, and the D.A.R.E.+ P.L.U.S. (Play and Learn Under 
Supervision) afterschool activity program.
 
D.A.R.E. is taught by law enforcement officers in 19 countries 
and is being implemented in Department of Defense Dependent 
Schools worldwide.
 
Program Objectives
 
The primary goals of D.A.R.E. are to prevent substance abuse 
among schoolchildren and help them develop effective gang and 
violence resistance techniques. The core curriculum targets young 
children to prepare them to avoid substance abuse and violence as 
they enter adolescence. D.A.R.E. lessons focus on the following 
objectives for all children:
 
o  Acquiring the knowledge and skills to recognize and resist 
peer pressure to experiment with tobacco, alcohol, and other 
drugs.
 
o  Enhancing self-esteem.
 
o  Learning assertiveness techniques.
 
o  Learning about positive alternatives to substance use.
 
o  Learning anger management and conflict resolution skills.
 
o  Developing risk assessment and decisionmaking skills.
 
o  Reducing violence.
 
o  Building interpersonal and communications skills.
 
o  Resisting gang involvement.
 
D.A.R.E. achieves these objectives by training carefully selected 
law enforcement officers to teach a structured, sequential 
curriculum in the schools.  An important byproduct of D.A.R.E. is 
the impact made by these uniformed officers, who work onsite in 
the classroom, as positive role models for the students. In 
addition, in every component except the parent program, a 
certified teacher is required to be present at all times as an 
active participant in the D.A.R.E. program.
 
D.A.R.E. Curriculum
 
The D.A.R.E. curriculum is continuously enhanced and expanded to 
more effectively meet the needs of children. Following are the 
current D.A.R.E. components.
 
Core Curriculum. Delivered by a D.A.R.E. officer to fifth and 
sixth grade students, the core curriculum includes one lesson 
each week for 17 consecutive weeks. A number of teaching 
techniques are used, including question-and-answer sessions, 
group discussions, role-playing, and workbook exercises.
 
Kindergarten Through Fourth Grade Visitation Lessons. As time 
permits, officers teaching the core curriculum can visit students 
in each of the lower grades to introduce younger students to the 
D.A.R.E. concept. The 15- to 20-minute lessons cover such topics 
as obeying laws, personal safety, and the helpful and harmful 
uses of medicines and drugs.
 
Junior High Curriculum. The D.A.R.E. junior high curriculum 
emphasizes information and skills that enable students to resist 
peer pressure and negative influences in making personal choices. 
The 10 lessons concentrate on helping students manage their 
feelings of anger and aggression and on showing them how to 
resolve conflicts without resorting to violence or to the use of 
alcohol or drugs.
 
Senior High Curriculum. The D.A.R.E. senior high curriculum 
focuses on the everyday situations that high school students 
encounter. For the first five lessons, a D.A.R.E. officer and a 
high school teacher use the technique of team teaching. They 
emphasize information and skills that enable students to act in 
their own best interests when facing high-risk, low-gain choices 
and to handle feelings of anger properly without causing harm to 
themselves or others. Five followup lessons, presented by the 
teacher, serve to reinforce the initial lessons.
 
Special Education Curriculum. The D.A.R.E. Midwestern Regional 
Training Center, administered by the Illinois State Police, has 
adapted the D.A.R.E. curriculum for special populations. D.A.R.E. 
officers receive specialized training that prepares them to teach 
the 17-week core curriculum in special classrooms to children 
with learning disabilities and behavioral disorders.
 
Parent Component. The D.A.R.E. parent component was developed to 
address the growing need for comprehensive family support and 
involvement in school programs. It is intended for any adult 
interested in ensuring health, safety, and development of life 
skills for children. The program provides information on 
communication and self-esteem building, risk factors associated 
with young children, basic facts on drug usage and the stages of 
adolescent chemical dependency, protective factors and sources of 
pressure, violence and conflict resolution, and agency networking 
in the community. The sessions offer participants the opportunity 
to become more involved in D.A.R.E. and give them access to 
community resources. The program consists of six 2-hour sessions, 
usually held in the evening, that are conducted by a certified 
D.A.R.E. officer.
 
D.A.R.E.+ P.L.U.S. Component. This component was initiated in 
1993 on a pilot basis at Marina del Rio School in Los Angeles, 
California. It was created as an extension of the successful 
D.A.R.E. program and is designed to help sixth, seventh, and 
eighth graders stay involved in school and away from gangs, 
drugs, and violence. D.A.R.E.+ P.L.U.S. provides students with a 
wide range of educational, vocational, and recreational 
afterschool activities in a safe and well-supervised campus 
setting.
 
Critical Program Elements
 
The following 12 elements are considered essential for the 
creation of a successful D.A.R.E. program.
 
Joint planning. Involvement and collaboration of law enforcement 
and education agencies should begin early in the planning 
process.
 
Written agreement. Law enforcement and education agencies should 
establish a contract that spells out mutual commitment, 
respective police and school roles, and partnership 
responsibility.
 
Officer selection. The officer selection process should involve 
screening and police-school panel interviews of officer 
candidates.
 
Officer training. Intensive seminars should be jointly conducted 
at accredited training centers by specially trained law 
enforcement and education personnel.
 
Curriculum. The tested and validated D.A.R.E. curriculum should 
be faithfully replicated.
 
Classroom instruction. Classroom instruction should follow the 
format described earlier in this fact sheet and should be taught 
by trained law enforcement officers, with assistance from 
certified teachers.
 
Officer appraisal. Procedures that monitor and assess an 
officer's classroom performance should be established.
 
Informal officer-student interaction. The program should include 
time for the officer to interact informally with the students on 
the playground, in the cafeteria, and at student assemblies.
 
Teacher orientation. At the beginning of the school year, an 
orientation should be conducted in which the D.A.R.E. officer 
familiarizes teachers with the D.A.R.E. curriculum and explains 
officer and teacher roles.
 
Inservice training. Continued officer training should be provided 
to ensure effectiveness, accuracy, and currency in teaching 
strategies.
 
Parent education. Each semester, a parent education evening 
should be held in which the D.A.R.E. officer explains the program 
and gives parents the opportunity to review the curriculum. In 
addition, a parent component, as outlined earlier in this fact 
sheet, should be developed.
 
Community presentations. Police, educators, and others committed 
to the success of the D.A.R.E. effort should meet with groups 
from all segments of the community to promote understanding and 
support.
 
Regional Training Centers
 
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of 
Justice, provides Federal discretionary funding to the five 
D.A.R.E. Regional Training Centers (RTC's) to support technical 
assistance, training, and accreditation of State training 
facilities. Working in conjunction with D.A.R.E. America, the 
nonprofit organization that legally owns and is responsible for 
overseeing the D.A.R.E. program and for maintaining up-to-date 
curriculum, the RTC's provide:
 
o  D.A.R.E. officer training seminars for new D.A.R.E. officers 
who will teach the core curriculum.
 
o  D.A.R.E. inservice training for experienced D.A.R.E. officers.
 
o  Mentor officer training for experienced D.A.R.E. officers who 
will train new D.A.R.E. officers.
 
o  D.A.R.E. parent program training for instructors who work with 
and train parents.
 
o  D.A.R.E. junior high/middle school program training.
 
o  D.A.R.E. senior high program training.
 
o  Program development.
 
o  Accreditation of law enforcement agencies as D.A.R.E. Training 
Centers.
 
o  Assessments of State D.A.R.E. Training Centers.
 
o  Monitoring and technical assistance for law enforcement 
agencies that are developing the D.A.R.E. program in their 
communities across the country. 
 
Law enforcement agencies interested in obtaining D.A.R.E. 
training or answers to questions about local D.A.R.E. programs 
may contact the appropriate D.A.R.E. RTC, as follows:
 
D.A.R.E. Eastern Regional Training Center Virginia State Police 
7700 Midlothian Turnpike Richmond, VA 23235 804-674-2238
 
The D.A.R.E. Eastern RTC serves Connecticut, Delaware, the 
District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode 
Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
 
D.A.R.E. Southeastern Regional Training Center North Carolina 
Bureau of Investigation 3320 Old Garner Road Raleigh, NC 27610 
919-662-4500
 
The D.A.R.E. Southeastern RTC serves Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
Tennessee. 
 
D.A.R.E. Midwestern Regional Training Center Illinois State 
Police Academy D.A.R.E. Bureau 3700 East Lakeshore Drive 
Springfield, IL 62707 217-786-7026
 
The D.A.R.E. Midwestern RTC serves Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Virgin 
Islands, and Wisconsin.
 
D.A.R.E. Southwest Regional Training Center Arizona Department of 
Public Safety Suite 290 3110 North 19th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85015 
602-223-2544
 
The D.A.R.E. Southwestern RTC serves Alaska, Arizona, American 
Samoa, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South 
Dakota, Texas, and Utah.
 
D.A.R.E. Western Regional Training Center City of Los Angeles 
Police Department 3353 San Fernando Road Los Angeles, CA 90065 
213-485-4856
 
The D.A.R.E. Western RTC serves California, Hawaii, Idaho, 
Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
 
Program Assessment
 
D.A.R.E. is the largest and most widely implemented drug and 
violence prevention program in the world. It has become 
recognized as a key element of community-based policing efforts.
 
In July 1993, a Gallup Poll Survey of more than 2,000 D.A.R.E. 
graduates was conducted. The results showed that more than 90 
percent of the graduates felt that D.A.R.E. assisted them in 
avoiding drugs and alcohol. The program also was credited with 
increasing self-esteem and ability to deal with peer pressure. 
Graduates reported that they had used one or two of the avoidance 
techniques taught to them by their D.A.R.E. officers.
 
More recently, a research study sponsored by the National 
Institute of Justice and conducted by the Research Triangle 
Institute indicated that D.A.R.E. is "currently our Nation's 
predominant school-based prevention program, and both its 
prevalence and popularity continue to expand." The appeal of 
D.A.R.E. cuts across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines, and 
student receptivity to D.A.R.E. was rated higher than for other 
prevention programs. D.A.R.E. is strongly supported by school 
staff, students, parents, and the community. Ratings of other 
substance abuse prevention programs were also high, but approval 
of D.A.R.E. was substantially stronger.
 
On the basis of continual assessments and feedback from the 
field, the D.A.R.E. program has been expanded to a full continuum 
of curricula offering training to children in kindergarten 
through 12th grade, so that the lessons learned in earlier grades 
are reinforced as students encounter peer pressure to become 
involved in drugs, alcohol, and high-risk behavior. The D.A.R.E. 
curriculum also has been revised to be more interactive through 
promoting active participation by students.
 
Funding
 
States can apply for Federal funds through the Edward Byrne 
Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant 
Program. The States make subawards to State and local agencies 
for drug and crime prevention and control programs and for 
criminal justice system improvements. The funds may be used for 
any of 26 authorized purpose areas, one of which is "demand 
reduction education programs in which law enforcement officers 
participate," such as D.A.R.E. Any community interested in 
obtaining funding for a D.A.R.E. program should contact its State 
office responsible for administration of the Formula Grant 
Program. The addresses and telephone numbers of the State offices 
are available from the Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse 
or the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center, as provided at 
right.
 
For Further Information
 
For additional information about the D.A.R.E. program, contact: 
D.A.R.E. America Suite 401 9800 La Cienga Boulevard Inglewood, CA 
90301 310-215-0575
 
Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse P.O. Box 6000 
Rockville, MD 20849-6000 800-688-4252
 
U.S. Department of Justice Response Center 800-421-6770
 
For additional information about D.A.R.E. program assessment, 
contact:
 
Bureau of Justice Assistance Evaluation Unit 202-307-5974
 
National Institute of Justice Evaluation Division 202-307-2942