D.A.R.E. Evaluation 1999/2000 Nevada Institute For Children

According to Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents-A Research Based Guide (Stoil and Hill, 1997) there are eight NIDA criteria for a successful prevention program and the complete D.A.R.E. program meets all of them. According to these standards, drug abuse prevention programs should:

• target the most critical age groups;
• provide multiple years of intervention;
• include a well tested, standardized intervention with detailed lesson plans and student materials;
• teach drug resistance skills through interactive methods;
• foster pro-social bonding to the school and community;
• contain appropriate content (e.g., teach social competence and drug resistance skills that are culturally and developmentally appropriate; promote positive peer influence; promote anti-drug social norms; emphasize skills training teaching methods) and include an adequate dosage (10 to 15 sessions in the first year and another 10 to 15 booster sessions);
• retain core elements of the effective intervention design (implementation fidelity), training and monitoring, and undergo periodic evaluation.