April 5, 2006

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Two versions of Communities That Care Survey now available from
Pride Surveys.

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CADCA solicits support for prevention programs.

Join Together wants to hear from K-12 educators.

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Pride and MTF surveys show progress in reducing illicit drug use among hard-to-reach teens

Since the beginning of the decade, two national surveys have shown steady progress in reducing current (or 30-day) drug use by high school seniors. The Pride Survey found an 11% decline, and the Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) found a 7% drop in the number of high school seniors using illicit drugs on a regular basis.

As the chart on the right demonstrates, both surveys showed remarkably similar trends.

One of the hardest tasks facing the prevention field is to lower the number of regular drug users within the oldest cohort in the adolescent population - high school seniors. These two, separate studies show that success is being achieved even in this most difficult task.

The Pride Surveys National Summary found that 30-day prevalence of any illicit drug use by 12th graders fell from 25.4% in 2000 to 22.5% in the school year that ended in June 2005 - an 11% relative decrease.

MTF showed a similar downturn, from 24.9% to 23.1% - a 7% relative decrease.

Educators, coalition leaders, parents and others in the prevention field should take satisfaction in the progress that is being made. Hopefully, elected leaders will also see that significant progress is being achieved.

Read more at these sites:
Pride Surveys National Summary
Monitoring the Future
Six-year comparison of 8th, 10th, and 12th Grades (Pride Surveys;MTF)

Is you funding in danger? CADCA can help.
Despite our progress in keeping young people away from drugs, almost all drug prevention budgets are under scrutiny and in danger of losing funding, or being eliminated altogether. CADCA does an excellent job of keeping the prevention field abreast of what action is needed. Visit CADCA' Legislative Action Center to see what you can do.

Join Together wants to hear from K-12 educators
Last March we reported on the training needs of our nation's teachers. Join Together, a program of the Boston University School of Public Health, is also listening to the concerns of our K-12 teachers, administrators and education professionals. If you are a K-12 educator, Join Together wants to hear from you. We encourage you to take a few minutes to complete their online survey.

Join Together's findings will be shared with the organizations that provide materials, training and support for teachers to help them respond to the needs identified by the teachers. Join Together will send a full report on what they learn to everyone who participates in the survey and to key officials throughout the country.

The Join Together study will provide national findings. If you want to learn what's happening in your state, district or school building, order our Faculty and Staff Survey.