Original publisher: Washington: U.S. G.P.O.: [U.S. G.P.O., Supt. of Docs., Congressional Sales Office, distributor], 2000. OCLC Number: (OCoLC)46456687 Subject: Drug abuse -- California, Northern -- Prevention. Excerpt: ... 11 I will summarize in three sentences what I am going to speak about. We need to have comprehensive and sustained programs that address the child's developmental stages, culture and gender. Programs that are monitored for continuity and connectivity that incorporate the family. Drug and alcohol abuse and use are most often symptoms of deeper problems rooted in a lack of self esteem, dysfunctional family environments, peer group influence, and inap-propriate societal pressures, including the mass media. Because of the clear relationship between drug and alcohol abuse and other factors in a child's life, it is essential to select methods of preven-tion, intervention and treatment that are holistic in nature and provide a child with tools necessary to resist destructive impulses and behaviors. Part of the selection process should be to mesh pre-vention and treatment agencies and strategies with development stages, culture and gender of a child. The DARE Program, which is Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is primarily in the elementary level. Beyond the elementary level, there is a patchwork of different programs that are available with-in Yolo County through the State. But consider some of the evidence. Teen focus groups in Yolo County recently identified drug and alcohol abuse as the greatest problem facing local youth. A local Healthstart grant survey re-cently identified drug and alcohol programs for teens as a primary issue. The California Safe Schools Assessment recently published by the California Department of Education demonstrates the cor-relation between substance abuse and age. But what about our adolescents? What happens after the pri-mary grades? We have State of California requirements which are providing different programs to ...