ilds risk factor(s) as well as continuing past the 5th and 6th grades. A more individualized program comes at much greater cost to the taxpayers, but would allow for the drug prevention program to complete its assigned task.The DARE program needs more than just a trained uniformed officer to improve upon the program. Adding more school counselors who have had training in drug prevention strategies may be a start in the right direction. These extra counselors working with the uniformed officers would give more individualized attention to each student within the program. Their understanding of counseling troubled youths coupled with their understanding of at risk students would give the DARE program a greater chance to follow through with its original plan, long term prevention. The world of drug prevention still has a lot of room for growth. In the last couple decades we have seen many new drugs introduced into society. Which in turn, makes the idea of prevention a difficult subject. There is basically a high out there to fix nearly any ailment you have. And we are all affected by different ailments. The only way I see to slow down the drug addicted population is to begin at an early age as the DARE program does, however, the program should continue past elementary school. I understand you can only tell an individual about drugs so many times before it loses its effectiveness. But a long-term program that builds a strong moral foundation as well as treats these young students as individuals instead of a mass entity would allow for a holistic approach to prevention. This I believe is what it will take for long-term prevention to begin within our society....
