{"id":17394,"date":"2024-05-18T16:19:09","date_gmt":"2024-05-18T15:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=17394"},"modified":"2024-09-22T17:48:15","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T16:48:15","slug":"investigation-most-oregon-drug-use-prevention-programs-for-kids-not-science-backed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2024\/05\/investigation-most-oregon-drug-use-prevention-programs-for-kids-not-science-backed\/","title":{"rendered":"Investigation: Most Oregon drug use prevention programs for kids not science-backed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"p_bottom-xxs \"><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-header__author border\">\n<div class=\"container row\">\n<div class=\"flex flex_column justify_start article-header__text\">\n<div class=\"f_primary f_bold color_dgray article-header__credits\">By\u00a0Emily Green<span class=\"color_gray f_normal f_s_xxs article-header__org\">\u00a0(The Lund Report)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"f_primary f_s_xxs color_gray article-header__meta\">Jan. 16, 2024 2 p.m.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">As science teacher Zach Lazar looks out across his classroom at South Eugene High School, he sees more kids struggling than he did before the pandemic. In the past two years, Lazar said, three of his students have died from drug use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cIt makes me sad to see how easy it is for students to go down the wrong path,\u201d Lazar said. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s gotten worse, substantially, since we came back from online learning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Lazar\u2019s experience aligns with alarming trends: The rate of substance use disorder among Oregon youth\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhanational.org\/issues\/2023\/mental-health-america-youth-data#four:~:text=Youth%20with%20Substance%20Use%20Disorder%202023\">ranks third<\/a>\u00a0in the country, and in the past six years, 348 Oregonians aged 15 to 24 died from accidental drug overdose. That\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/surveys\/ntps\/estable\/table\/ntps\/ntps2021_sflt07_t1s\">enough<\/a>\u00a0to fill more than 15 high school classrooms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">In no other state have overdoses among teens aged 15 to 19 grown faster over the same time period, according to not-yet-finalized\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wonder.cdc.gov\/mcd.html\">federal data<\/a>. Now, a six-month investigation by The Lund Report in collaboration with the University of Oregon\u2019s Catalyst Journalism Project and Oregon Public Broadcasting shows that a key institution \u2014 the state\u2019s K-12 public school system \u2014 has failed to adapt to the new reality facing Oregon\u2019s kids.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oregon.public.law\/statutes\/ors_336.222\">Oregon law<\/a>\u00a0requires administrators of every public school district in Oregon to have a robust substance use prevention strategy\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/oregon.public.law\/rules\/oar_581-022-2045\">based on research<\/a>. And studies suggest that well-crafted prevention programs can\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsipp.wa.gov\/BenefitCost?topicId=9\">save tax dollars<\/a>\u00a0and young lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">For this project, reporters asked the state\u2019s 197 public school districts what they are doing to prevent substance use among their students. Districts teaching nearly 9 out of 10 of Oregon\u2019s public school students responded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">The results show that most Oregon kids \u2014 living in a world with increasingly dangerous drugs and unparalleled external pressures \u2014 aren\u2019t getting evidence-backed substance use prevention. That\u2019s judging by the reviews of well-respected expert clearinghouses consulted with for this project. They examine prevention programs and curricula to determine whether they have strong scientific backing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Among the findings:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"article-body__text article-body--double-padding color_dgray\">\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">60% of Oregon\u2019s school districts don\u2019t use prevention curricula or programs at any grade level that meet even the lowest bar for evidence, including Portland Public Schools, according to the nation\u2019s top prevention and curricula clearinghouses.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">District responses showed 20% of districts rely on little more than a chapter in a health textbook to get the job of addiction prevention done.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">Though prevention experts emphasize starting substance use prevention early, only 44 of the 119 districts surveyed use programming endorsed by an expert clearinghouse\u2019s evidence review at the elementary school level.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">Only one of the responding districts offers an evidence-based program that involves parents \u2014 which experts call a powerful component of effective prevention.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">Oregon\u2019s school districts receive\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelundreport.org\/content\/youth-addiction-prevention-oregon-gets-little-help-state\">little support and guidance from the state<\/a>\u00a0to select substance use prevention programs backed by evidence.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">Other states follow the science, helping schools adopt evidence-backed programs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelundreport.org\/prevention-project\">publicly accessible data portal<\/a>\u00a0details the results of the statewide inquiry reporters conducted, linking each responding Oregon school district\u2019s prevention program with ratings and evidence reviews.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">The data comes with caveats. Among them: Reviews of individual curricula may be incomplete or not done in a timely manner, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelundreport.org\/content\/not-all-prevention-research-created-equal-experts-can-pinpoint-solid-science\">prevention science has limitations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">But local experts say this project\u2019s findings show that the state\u2019s leaders could \u2014 and should \u2014 be doing more to improve the trajectory of young Oregonians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cThese are dire findings and extremely important,\u201d Mark Van Ryzin, a research professor who studies prevention at the University of Oregon\u2019s College of Education, told The Lund Report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Anthony Biglan, a senior scientist at the Oregon Research Institute said that if acted upon, the findings \u201ccould make an enormous difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Gov. Tina Kotek vowed to take action. \u201cThese findings are alarming,\u201d she said through a spokesperson. \u201cI pledge to bring key agency leaders together to review these findings and develop a specific action plan to address these gaps. Prevention is part of the solution to Oregon\u2019s addiction crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">The good news? Some schools and educators are showing that evidence-backed prevention in Oregon is possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Across the state, 8% of districts have put in place curricula and programs that, according to expert clearinghouses, have the potential to reduce risk factors for addiction, across both their primary and secondary schools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Still, Oregon\u2019s youth live in a world where drugs are easily accessible through social media and can cost\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kgw.com\/article\/news\/local\/portland-fentanyl-pills-cheap-prices\/283-6636e58e-6af3-424a-ac0c-ba874783d798\">less than a dollar<\/a>\u00a0a dose. They are also growing up in the only state to decriminalize possession of hard drugs. The long-term effects of that change on teenage perceptions of drug-use harms and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hidta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/FINAL-KP2-Social-Norms-Intervention2.7r-1.pdf\">social norms<\/a>\u00a0is yet to be seen, as was underscored in interviews with students.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cWe are at war in prevention, with big pharma, big tobacco, big alcohol, now big marijuana and drug cartels out of Mexico,\u201d said Rodney Wambeam, a prevention scientist out of the University of Wyoming who\u2019s conducted prevention work in about 40 of the 50 states. \u201cAnd they are better funded.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article-body--padding f_primary f_bold color_dgray\">How Linn County brings an evidence-based program into classrooms<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cDo you guys know what it means to be assertive?\u201d Standing tall and dressed in black, Shannon Snair commanded attention in a classroom full of 11- and 12-year olds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">It was just past noon at Scio Middle School in rural Willamette Valley, and the sixth graders who had noisily settled into seats moments ago were now listening intently to Snair\u2019s words.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cIt\u2019s when you act in a really strong, confident way, letting people know what you need, and why you need something,\u201d Snair said. \u201cAnd I will tell you, being assertive is not always easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Snair, a county behavioral health worker, spoke with confidence and exuded charisma as she led a lively conversation about situations in which kids may need to stand up for themselves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Fewer than 1,000 people live in Scio, a farming community, and Snair was visiting its school to teach the final course of the year in LifeSkills Training. It\u2019s one of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeskillstraining.com\/evaluation-studies\/\">most studied<\/a>\u00a0and highly regarded substance use prevention curricula available.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blueprintsprograms.org\/programs\/5999999\/lifeskills-training-lst\/\">Clearinghouse certified studies have shown<\/a>\u00a0that LifeSkills can lead to reductions in the use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis years later among students who\u2019ve completed the program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Spread over three years, it consists of 30 one-hour sessions that weave together demonstrations, practice and student feedback.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Snair, a mother of two, likes that LifeSkills goes beyond teaching how drugs and alcohol will affect kids\u2019 bodies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cIt also teaches kids general life skills,\u201d she said. \u201cWe talk about decision making, we talk about self-esteem, we talk about good communication and social skills. We talk about stress, positive ways to cope with stress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Scio School District is in the minority. In Oregon, 3% of public school districts use curricula considered by expert clearinghouses to have valid evidence that they specifically reduce substance use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">As part of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/linntogether.org\/\">larger prevention strategy<\/a>, Linn County officials chose LifeSkills Training for schools 25 years ago because it was \u201cthe most studied program out there,\u201d said Danette Killinger, who coordinates prevention for the county. Sending health workers into classrooms to teach it saves money and ensures the curriculum is being taught as it was designed, she added.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article-body--padding f_primary f_bold color_dgray\">State\u2019s fentanyl awareness curricula effort limited, experts say<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Substance use prevention programs with well-documented effectiveness in middle and high schools, like LifeSkills Training, combine lessons in social and emotional skills with drug and alcohol education.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Elementary school programs with strong evidence, such as the Positive Action program used in Vernonia, focus mainly on self-regulation and social-emotional skills.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">There\u2019s a big difference between these programs and the goals of a law passed last year,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/olis.oregonlegislature.gov\/liz\/2023R1\/Measures\/Overview\/SB238\">Senate Bill 238<\/a>, which took cues from Beaverton School District\u2019s recently developed \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beaverton.k12.or.us\/departments\/communications-community-involvement\/fake-and-fatal\">Fake and Fatal<\/a>\u201d curriculum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">The law requires the state to develop classroom units that teach the dangers of synthetic opioids and counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills, as well as Good Samaritan laws, which protect people from being charged with drug possession if they call first responders to aid in an overdose. While it will give students potentially life-saving information, experts say the law falls well short of what\u2019s needed to help them to avoid or delay substance use altogether.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Biglan, who sits on the state\u2019s Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission\u2019s prevention subcommittee, said the initiative is a good idea given the \u201curgency,\u201d but testing its specific design will be key.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cIt is unlikely that any curriculum that focuses on \u2018knowledge\u2019 of drugs will have much impact,\u201d said Van Ryzin, who also works as a research scientist at the Oregon Research Institute. In reference to the failed, fear-based attempts at drug prevention, such as the \u201cThis is your Brain on Drugs\u201d ad campaign of the 1980s and \u201890s, he added, \u201cThis approach has never been successful, all the way back to those fried egg commercials.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article-body--padding f_primary f_bold color_dgray\">Teens say schools should step it up<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Teenagers at West Linn High School described feeling unprepared when they were confronted with widespread vaping, drinking and cannabis smoking as first-year high school students.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cI\u2019ve lived in West Linn since the first grade, and I don\u2019t recall learning anything about prevention,\u201d said Jonathan Garcia, 17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cI remember it was like a slap to the face really, when I went to high school and, like, saw everything,\u201d said Claire Peate, 16.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body--padding article-body-ad\">\n<div class=\"ad-container f_primary border articleBody\n\n      \"><\/p>\n<section>\n<div class=\"float_right\">The bottom line is simple, said South Eugene High School sophomore Chazz Keith: \u201cKids aren\u2019t as dumb as everybody thinks.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Like other teenagers interviewed, Keith and several of his classmates at South Eugene said they know that they aren\u2019t getting enough quality, up-to-date, straightforward information about drugs and addiction in their classrooms. Schools should do more to educate kids about why people turn to drugs in the first place rather than focusing on scare tactics, they say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Prevention \u201cjust needs to be like, the root of the problem,\u201d said sophomore Bella Kottwitz. \u201cAnd I feel like in middle school, a lot of it is just teaching like from a textbook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">And, the teens said, adults don\u2019t get it. Everything has changed, including the substances themselves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Cannabis has evolved, bred to higher potency and with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6312155\/#:~:text=A%20landmark%20study%20out%20of,versus%20370%20matched%20healthy%20controls.&amp;text=They%20found%20that%20use%20of,a%20five%20times%20increased%20risk.\">potential side effects<\/a>\u00a0their parents never dreamed of. The meth is different, too, and synthetic drugs bring a whole new array of dangers. Tobacco? It now comes packaged in an array of bright colors and sweet flavors \u2014 and vaping is easier for kids to conceal than the tell-tale smell of cigarette smoke.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cThe drugs that they grew up with was, like, cigarettes and pot and alcohol,\u201d said Aiden Sauer, 15. \u201cThere are a lot worse drugs out right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cAnd they\u2019re legal,\u201d said Garcia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cYeah, and they\u2019re legal now,\u201d Sauer said. \u201cAnd everyone is just going on about how bad they are. And they are bad, but they\u2019re not giving us any tips or, like, a lifeline to reach out to.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article-body--padding f_primary f_bold color_dgray\">What classroom prevention looks like<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">In one survey response, West-Linn-Wilsonville School District officials indicated they employ a prevention strategy delivered through health class, guest speakers, student-led awareness campaigns and supplemental lessons developed by teachers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">But in an interview, Autumn Schmidlin, 15, said she was underwhelmed in a West Linn High School health class where each student had to pick a drug to research and then present to the class.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cA lot of people were joking about it, and they didn\u2019t take it seriously,\u201d she said. \u201cIncluding me, too, I never really took it fully seriously.\u201d Tasked with presenting on a hallucinogen, she recalled her approach as \u201cI\u2019ll make a colorful presentation, because that\u2019s what you see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">The Eugene 4J School District\u2019s prevention strategy for middle schoolers consists of health class \u201cplus supplemental lessons,\u201d according to its survey response. The district, however, was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelundreport.org\/content\/youth-addiction-prevention-oregon-gets-little-help-state\">out of state compliance<\/a>\u00a0for substance use education for several years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">South Eugene High School students told The Lund Report they remembered the lessons as repetitive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cEvery year, you got taught about the same drugs,\u201d said Keith, a sophomore. \u201cIt was the same information over and over again, in my experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">It\u2019s not surprising health curricula leave impressions like these.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cThe point of that health book is to generally teach health,\u201d said Pamela Buckley, a prevention scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder. \u201cIt\u2019s not to prevent substance use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Additional school district\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelundreport.org\/prevention-project\">survey results<\/a>\u00a0for this project painted a picture of inconsistency and missed opportunities resulting from little state guidance and support:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"article-body__text article-body--double-padding color_dgray\">\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">Numerous districts, such as Gresham-Barlow, McMinnville and Oregon City, pointed to their health education curriculum as their primary or sole component of substance use prevention.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">Some districts appeared to lump all their \u201cprevention\u201d efforts in the same bucket. Asked about their strategies to reduce substance use, 17 districts listed a suicide prevention program, while others pointed to sex-education programs.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">Of the 119 districts who provided survey results, only 24 noted using programs certified by clearinghouses as evidence-backed at the middle school level \u2014 and just 12 districts use these evidence-backed programs in high school.<\/li>\n<li class=\"article-body__text\">Asked to include whether they made certified alcohol and drug counselors available as part of their prevention strategy, 12% indicated that they did.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">In addition, 23 districts noted they hold assemblies as part of their substance use strategies, many others noted classroom presentations from local police, government workers or local behavioral health providers. In some cases, isolated events are a district\u2019s only supplement to health class.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">But one-time events don\u2019t work \u2014 especially if that\u2019s all a school is doing, explained Rick Collins, a prevention specialist at the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance, during an online forum on<a href=\"https:\/\/pttcnetwork.org\/centers\/northwest-pttc\/product\/what-does-does-not-work-prevention\">\u00a0what works in prevention<\/a>\u00a0this past May. Collins said that if these approaches are in use, they need to be layered in with \u201cwhat we know to be some effective prevention strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Three districts, including Portland Public Schools, use a curriculum developed by the New York-based pro-decriminalization advocacy group, Drug Policy Alliance, which funded the Measure 110 campaign. The curriculum teaches the effects of drugs on the body, as well as advice for safer drug use, such as \u201cstart low and go slow\u201d when trying a new drug for the first time. No clearinghouse consulted for this project has yet reviewed it. The Alliance has funded\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelundreport.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Publication%20School-based%20harm%20reduction%5B41%5D.pdf\">a study<\/a>\u00a0to measure the program\u2019s success in promoting \u201charm reduction knowledge and behaviors,\u201d including changes in students\u2019 level of \u201cdrug policy advocacy\u201d after being taught with the curriculum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cThere\u2019s no consistency,\u201d said Pam Pearce, a prominent prevention educator and co-founder of Oregon\u2019s first high school for teens in recovery from addiction. Having herself researched what Oregon schools teach for prevention she said, \u201cThe truth is, when you look at what they teach and when they teach, it\u2019s a free for all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Not captured in the district survey are individual classrooms where teachers use evidence-backed practices \u2014 like Lazar, the Eugene teacher, who uses cooperative learning to teach students. It\u2019s a group learning model that a clearinghouse\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.blueprintsprograms.org\/programs\/1527999999\/cooperative-learning\/print\/\">recently endorsed<\/a>\u00a0after a large-scale study \u2014 conducted in Oregon \u2014 suggested it can lower rates of alcohol use, as well as risk factors that contribute to substance use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Experts say a 2021 law requiring social-emotional learning be taught in all districts,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/olis.oregonlegislature.gov\/liz\/2021R1\/Downloads\/MeasureDocument\/HB2166\/Enrolled\">House Bill 2166<\/a>, could serve as an excellent foundation for reducing the risk factors that lead to substance use. These programs are aimed at helping kids learn how to manage emotions, feel empathy and make good decisions. Experts say it\u2019s also among the best approaches to early-learning substance use prevention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">But staff members at Forest Grove School District, which embedded a social-emotional learning program in its elementary schools eight years ago, said it takes teacher buy-in and hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to pay for the ongoing coaching and training needed to do it right.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Because of a lack of additional funding and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelundreport.org\/content\/not-all-prevention-research-created-equal-experts-can-pinpoint-solid-science\">scientific guidelines<\/a>, experts say the new law\u2019s rollout looks to be flawed from the start.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cThe intention is admirable, but the implementation is miles short of where it has to be, and because there is no measurement or accountability, nobody will ever understand just how ineffective it is,\u201d said Mark Van Ryzin, a research scientist with the Oregon Research Institute. He said because districts are free to select programs\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelundreport.org\/content\/not-all-prevention-research-created-equal-experts-can-pinpoint-solid-science\">that aren\u2019t evidence-backed<\/a>, \u201cmillions\u201d could be wasted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Biglan agreed, adding, \u201cwe are doubtful that schools have the capacity and resources to translate the (state) guidance into effective practice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">All told, this investigation showed that districts around Oregon, lacking funding, support and guidance from the state, are, for the most part, employing untested combinations of programs with scant evidence to back them or, at worst, doing little more than try to meet the minimum standard for health education. And when it comes to implementing meaningful prevention programs that experts say can work, Oregon\u2019s districts fall far short.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Biglan, the senior scientist at Oregon Research Institute, said the gap between \u201cwhat we know\u201d about prevention in Oregon \u201cand what we\u2019re doing\u201d is vast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Annaliese Dolph, a former aide to Gov. Kotek, now directs the state Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission. Under Oregon law, the commission works with the Oregon Department of Education to set its youth substance use prevention standards. Told of the project\u2019s findings in an interview, she called the findings \u201cimportant\u201d but attributed them to Oregon\u2019s tradition as a \u201clocal control\u201d state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cThe fact is that districts have a lot of control about what happens in the class,\u201d she said. She likened the situation to past controversy over districts teaching\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/education\/2023\/01\/too-many-oregon-children-cant-read-should-districts-be-forced-to-drop-discredited-curriculum.html\">discredited reading curricula<\/a>\u00a0and said that given the dismal state of prevention across Oregon, state leaders\u2019 task now is to determine the \u201cnext best step.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">State Rep. Lisa Reynolds, a pediatrician and Democrat who represents northeastern Washington County, was more optimistic about the state\u2019s short-term ability to improve the situation in classrooms. She has been pushing for a conversation about youth prevention and treatment in the upcoming legislative session.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">Told of the project\u2019s findings, Reynolds said that she thinks things could be improved, despite lack of funding and the longstanding tradition of local influence over school programming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cIt feels like something that doesn\u2019t have to be some huge complicated thing,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to be reinventing wheels \u2026 If there\u2019s evidence about what type of curriculum works, then we should do what we can to have schools adopt the programming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">She said the weaknesses in classroom prevention exposed in this project\u2019s findings \u201chas to be part of the focus\u201d for the Oregon Legislature in its long session slated for 2025, if not sooner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-body__text article-body--padding color_dgray m-none\">\u201cIt continues to frustrate me as a pediatrician that we as a state, as a society, as a health care system, we\u2019re doing that whole thing of catching the people after they fall off the cliff,\u201d she said. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be much better if we put a fence at the top of the cliff? And part of that is education.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Source: https:\/\/www.opb.org\/article\/2024\/01\/16\/investigation-most-oregon-drug-use-prevention-programs-for-kids-not-science-backed\/<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Emily Green\u00a0(The Lund Report) Jan. 16, 2024 2 p.m. As science teacher Zach Lazar looks out across his classroom at South Eugene High School, he sees more kids struggling than he did before the pandemic. In the past two years, Lazar said, three of his students have died from drug use. \u201cIt makes me sad [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,40,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-sector","category-prevention-research","category-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17394\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}