FY 2004 Continuation Drug-Free Communities Support Program

The Urban Youth Development Corporation is the fiscal agent for the East Orange Prevention Policy Board Coalition. The coalition serves the city of East Orange, New Jersey. In this urban area, teens drink "forties" and smoke marijuana on a regular basis. Among the teen population, these two drugs are easy to obtain and seen as harmless to use. This tolerant and acceptable attitude toward these "gateway drugs" is one of many factors contributing to increased substance abuse among youth in the community. To achieve the goals of reducing substance abuse among youth and increasing community collaboration, the coalition will implement the following strategies:
1) development of the coalition, including a five-year strategic plan;
2) increase parents' knowledge that children report getting their first drink from their home, as measured by pre/post tests given during parenting classes;
3) utilize the county governments of East Orange and Essex to address policy issues; 4) increase parents' skills and knowledge about setting limits, communicating with teens, and discouraging drug, alcohol and cigarette use by children, as measured by pre/post tests given during parenting classes;
5) increase the public's knowledge of the harm caused by adults buying liquor for children from the store, as measured by a telephone survey conducted by the year 2008.
CA/NCF