[this
information taken and adapted from the CADCA CapWiz web pages]
In his fiscal year 2006 budget request, President Bush recommended
eliminating the State Grants portion of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools
and Communities (SDFSC) Program despite the fact that it has historically
served as the backbone of school-based substance abuse prevention
and intervention efforts in the United States. This funding has
had a significant impact on helping to achieve the 17% overall decline
in youth drug use over the past three years. In Wisconsin, the Youth
Risk Behavior Survey has revealed significant positive changes in
youth alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
See
the following for more details.
Wisconsin
Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
Fact Sheet on Proposed SDFSC Elimination
- provided by the WI Dept. of Public Instruction
[PDF
version] [Word
version]
Wisconsin Prevention Outcomes - based
on data from the 2003 YRBS
[PDF
version] [Word
version]
If Congress implements this cut,
then the school based prevention infrastructures that are currently
in place will be decimated and the 37 million youth who are served
annually by programs funded through SDFSC will no longer receive
the prevention education they need.
Costs associated with drug, alcohol,
and tobacco use add 10% ($41 billion) to the already strained budgets
of schools across the nation. The $441 million in funding for the
SDFSC Program is minimal when compared to these costs. We cannot
afford to see the SDFSC Program eliminated.
Annually, the SDFSC Program has allocated
almost $6 million in funding to all of the school districts in Wisconsin
on a formula basis, in order to develop school-based drug and violence
prevention programs. SDFSC funding supports many organizations across
the state including, but not limited to, the Alliance for Wisconsin
Youth, the Wisconsin Regional Teen Institute, City and High Risk
Youth Tribal prevention programs, and the Wisconsin Clearinghouse
for Prevention Resources. The Wisconsin Clearinghouse provides the
state's Prevention Resource Center, a critical infrastructure for
the provision of effective prevention resources, technical assistance,
research, and best practice formation.
Additional resources:
Policy
Brief on the Federal Drug Budget- a publication of the Research
and Policy Analysis Group of Carnevale Associates, LLC.
Action is needed immediately! Contact
your elected officials and let them know about successful outcomes
associated with Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities supported
programs.
Find
Your Legislator
Write
a letter through CADCA's CapWiz
More information:
[What is
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities?]
[Advocacy
versus Lobbying]
