Parent Program Curriculum

 GOALS

• To help strengthen the basic elements taught to students in the D.A.R.E. program.

• To enhance and help develop awareness of drug trends existing in the Community.

• To assist families in acquiring the information and skills necessary to reduce their children's risks of substance abuse and involvement in violent behavior.

OBJECTIVES

• To practice communication and listening skills, and to identify self-esteem building skills.

• To help families recognize the scope of the drug abuse, violence and the risk factors for young people associated with each;

• To discuss attitudes and consequences regarding the use of alcohol and other drugs.

• To help families obtain basic drug information and gain an understanding of the stages of adolescent chemical dependency.

• To evaluate the impact of pressure to use drugs by peers and the media, and to identify resistance skills.

• To help families become aware of the overall drug picture as it relates to their Community as a whole, to identify Community resources and referrals, and to identify risk factors which may be addressed in the home.

• To identify violence young people may encounter, possible causes of violent behavior and to discuss strategies to reduce violent behavior.

SESSIONS/DESCRIPTIONS

Session 1:  Effective Communications
Self-esteem, listening and communication skills are critical in adult-child communication. The practice of these skills will assist in the development of stronger family communications essential to prevention. Session 1 serves as the foundation for the program and will be referred to throughout the other sessions.

Session 2:   Drug Abuse Prevention - Birth Through Eight Years
Designed specifically for parents of children ages birth - 8, this session provides an awareness of safety measures which can be used in the home to reduce the likelihood of dangerous exposure to drugs. In addition, the session introduces strategies parents can use to reduce the likelihood that young children will be at risk of drug abuse when they become adolescents.

Session 3: Drug Abuse Prevention and Intervention - Ages Nine Through Adolescence
This session introduces the risk factors for substance abuse in early adolescents, and introduces parents to basic drug identification and the stages of adolescent chemical dependency.

Session 4: Youth Pressures/Resistance Skills
Through this session, awareness and understanding of life skills, particularly in the areas of dealing with peer pressure and media influences, the family network is strengthened.

Session 5: Violence-Prevention Strategies and Conflict Resolution
This session will introduce sources of violence, gang indicators and prevention strategies which relate to homes, neighborhoods, schools and Communities.

Session 6: Panel Discussion
Members of the Community from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds will discuss the scope of substance abuse and violence locally and exchange ideas on resources and referrals. Panel members are selected from a cross section of the Community and may include: educators, students, therapists/counselors, prevention professionals and other Community leaders.
Panelists are given approximately five minutes to give a brief overview of their agency and/or their interest in this program. The panelists will have questions given to them prior to the session in order to assist with the comments.
Following the introductory statements, the panelists will field questions from the program participants.

SUMMARY

The D.A.R.E. Parent Program is designed to stimulate interest in the Community and to motivate families to take a more active role in the prevention of substance abuse and Community violence. The content of the sessions provides participants the opportunity to become more involved and gives them access to Community resources. This pooling of resources can assist participants in making a more positive impact on the future of children.