SMART Leaders

Developed by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Stay SMART program is a drug prevention initiative that utilizes role playing, group activities, and discussions to promote social skills and increase knowledge about the health consequences and prevalence of substance use by youth and adults. The program curriculum calls for 12 sessions, each lasting for an hour or more.
SMART Leaders is a 2-year booster program aimed at reinforcing the skills and knowledge youths learned in Stay SMART. Five booster sessions last 90 minutes and focus on improving self-image, coping with stress, resisting media pressure, and providing education/ discussion modules on alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Five Boys and Girls Clubs offered the SMART Leaders program to 13-year-old boys and girls of various ethnic/racial backgrounds living in public housing projects in Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Wisconsin, and Arkansas.

The SMART Leaders booster program was effective in maintaining and furthering gains made in the initial Stay SMART program. Self-reported questionnaires reflected significantly minimized drug-related behavior and fewer misconceptions regarding alcohol and marijuana use than in the control group. Tests also showed an increase in knowledge concerning the health consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use.

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