Many experts in education and medicine believe substance abuse prevention must begin early in a child's life. Understanding this need, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District jointly developed the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) program in September of 1983.

The purpose of this program is to prevent substance abuse among school-age children by:

• Providing students with accurate information about alcohol and drugs

• Teaching students ways to say "No" to drugs, while providing alternatives to drug use.

• Teaching students decision-making skills and consequences of their behavior

• Building students' self-esteem, while teaching them how to resist peer pressure

The core curriculum of the D.A.R.E. program is aimed at fifth and sixth grade students; however, the current program is structured to include grades K through 12. The D.A.R.E. program in Pulaski County will include Elementary, Middle, and High School grades starting the fall of 2007.

The D.A.R.E. curriculum places a uniformed law enforcement officer in the classroom as the program instructor. The police officers assigned to D.A.R.E. come straight from the streets. Their years of direct experience with the ruined lives and street crimes caused by substance abuse gives them unmatched credibility and knowledge. Pulaski County teaches D.A.R.E. at the Winamac, Monterey and West Central Elementary Schools.

The D.A.R.E. program, funded solely by private and corporate donations through D.A.R.E. America, has expanded to all 50 States and many foreign countries since its inception. The successes of the program are still being studied by independent research firms, but preliminary findings show it has far exceeded its goal of helping young students combat peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol.

If you or your organization is interested in donating to the Pulaski County Dare Program please feel free to contact the Sheriff's Office for more information.