Programs fighting drugs, violence called into question

01:21 PM MST on Sunday, May 7, 2006

By Djamila Grossman
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

For more than a decade, a federal grant has helped the Tucson Unified School District fight violence and drugs on campus.

But the latest federal budget proposal eliminates the grant after the effectiveness of the programs it funds had been called into question.

Now, officials in TUSD's Comprehensive Health Education Department are worried about finding other funding to continue the program. This comes as Arizona reports the highest rates of illicit drug dependence among teens of any state, as well as rates of those who need but don't receive drug treatment.

"It's very challenging. There are not a lot of dollars out there given the constraints of the school district," said Sue Habkirk, program director of the Comprehensive Health Education Department.

Officials also are concerned because they're already facing cutbacks to a related grant.

"I'm hoping that we can find some other resources to continue a successful program," Habkirk said. "Worst-case scenario is we go away."

The federal funding for Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities includes two types of grants. The first are distributed to each state to pass on to applying school districts. The second are discretionary grants given directly to school districts that demonstrate a need and a plan on how to use the funds.

Via the first grant, TUSD has worked with school staffers including counselors, psychologists, nurses and probation officers. It's established services such as support groups, parental education programs, community task forces, school safety-officer support, and crisis response to aid students before they get involved in gangs and drugs.

The proposed budget eliminates those grants and cuts the discretionary grants by about $6 million, from a little more than $222 million in 2006 to just under $216 million in 2007. Congress still has to approve the cuts.

"Every year, federally, it comes under scrutiny and question," Habkirk said of the state grant. "Hopefully, they realize that it's a good investment."

If the measure passes and the state grants are eliminated, TUSD officials probably will apply for the discretionary grant, but Habkirk said it likely won't meet the district's needs.

Out of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities grant of $505,539 TUSD received this school year, about 30 percent goes to the Family and Student Support Team, one of the key programs that's increased academic performance through group sessions on drug use and coping methods, Habkirk said.

Two FASST social workers are meeting weekly with about 600 students in groups of 10 to 20 at nine high schools and 11 middle schools to discuss drug resistance skills and underlying issues that may trigger drug use.

The program has shown to improve academic performance and attendance and has contributed to lower repeat suspension rates among participating students, Habkirk said.

"Project FASST is helping them toward goal setting. They realize drug use has negative consequences," she said. "It's a significant demonstration of the impact of the program."

While schools are working hard to provide adequate services, the state has some fierce drug problems to solve.

Arizona's illicit-drug dependence is the highest in the nation among 12- to 17-year-olds, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's annual survey on substance use, conducted by its Office of Applied Studies. It is also the state with the highest number of 12- to 17-year-olds who needed but did not receive treatment for illicit-drug use in the past year, according to the latest survey, conducted in 2004.

Methamphetamine, cocaine and prescription-drug abuse is rising in children, even those in middle school, in addition to alcohol and marijuana abuse, said Veronica Elias, FASST prevention coordinator through most of the 2005-06 school year.

Girls are especially "self-medicating," using the drugs to lose weight or to conquer anxiety issues or depression, Elias said.

"We hear from a lot of students who say it helps them focus and calm down," she said. "They don't know how to put a name to it."

One of those students is Courtney Tweedy, who said she has been drug-free for almost a year, with the help of FASST.

"It's a good program. They teach you how to deal with stress and drug addiction," the Tucson High Magnet School freshman said. "The counselors make it special. They are extremely helpful."

Tweedy, 16, said she used to use methamphetamines, cocaine and marijuana, as did her best friend, while her father battled an alcohol addiction. In addition to FASST services, she spent three months in an outpatient clinic last summer.

Even though she might stop attending FASST meetings next year, Tweedy said it's good to know she can always go back and it concerns her that the service might be eliminated.

"For the other kids, it's going to be a problem," she said. "For some, it's the only thing to do."

Tweedy's mother agreed, saying it is hard to organize and pay for services outside school.

"It's a good place for her to be able to talk. She does seem to enjoy it," Kimberly Tweedy said. "I think it's been really good for her and I think it's very much needed."

But the federal Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, part of the Department of Education, takes a different stance.

"One of the problems with the formula grant is that those dollars get spread pretty thinly across the country," said Deborah Price, the assistant deputy secretary in the office that oversees the program. "You can put a lot of dollars into programs that have little effectiveness. I do think the president's proposal is a good proposal, (it's an) effective way to use those dollars."

School districts will have to learn how to address the problems via parent and community collaboration, Price said.

"We want people to develop sustainable programs that can go on when the federal dollars end," she said. "This was never meant to be an absolute entitlement."

FASST facts During the 2005-06 school year, FASST is at:

l Catalina High, Cholla High, Booth-Fickett Middle School, Gridley Middle School, Hohokam Middle School, Mansfeld Middle School, Maxwell Middle School, Naylor Middle School, Palo Verde High, Pistor Middle School, Pueblo High, Rincon High, Sabino High, Sahuaro High, Santa Rita High, Townsend Middle School, Tucson High, Utterback Middle School, Vail Middle School and Valencia Middle School.

Source: TUSD

Safe and drug-free schools and communities

State grants:

l FY 2005: $437,381

l FY 2006: $346,500

l FY 2007: $0

National discretionary grants

l FY 2005: $234,580

l FY 2006: $222,335

l FY 2007: $215,992

Source: U.S. Department of Education

FASST STATISTICS

2003-04

l 32 percent of participating children had an increased GPA.

l 18 percent of participating children had increased attendance.

2004-05

l 73 percent of surveyed students said participating in FASST made them realize the importance of education.

l 93 percent of the children stated that the group program helped them grow or change.

l There was a 39 percent drop in repeat suspension in the first semester of the school year and a 25 percent reduction of repeat suspension over both semesters among participating students.

Source: TUSD

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