NCJ Number
145641
Date Published
1993
Length
184 pages
Annotation
The Community Responses to Drug Abuse (CRDA) Program is analyzed.
Abstract
In 1988, the National Training and Information Center (NTIC), its affiliated organizations, and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) developed CRDA, a national demonstration program involving community-based organizations in Council Bluffs, Des Moines, and Waterloo, Iowa; Hartford, Connecticut; Chicago, Illinois; Bronx, New York; Oakland, California; Houston, Texas; and Cleveland, Ohio. The Bureau of Justice Assistance funded this program. Over a 3-year period beginning May 1989, these cities planned and implemented a variety of antidrug programs with the assistance of NCPC and NTIC. Program planning and antidrug strategies included organizing community residents via various mechanisms including rallies, marches, newsletters, and neighborhood watches, and encouraging church involvement; strengthening enforcement efforts by establishing partnerships with law enforcement as well as other agencies, closing drug houses, and monitoring prosecutors and judges; protecting youth by creating drug- free school zones, increasing drug education in the schools, and encouraging parental involvement; providing treatment services for drug users and networking with service providers; and developing the community by improving physical conditions and housing in the neighborhoods. Although the 3-year funding period did not allow the study of long-term effects of the CRDA program, the researchers developed a set of descriptive case studies and cross-site comparisons of the current state-of-the-art in community antidrug initiatives through the collection of qualitative and quantitative data. The evaluation concluded, inter alia, that even with limited Federal funding, the CRDA cities were able to pursue their respective antidrug agenda with greater intensity, focus and persistence; however, more time and larger grant awards were needed to plan and implement the types of programs that were envisioned. The CRDA organizations' association with the Federal Government as well as with local law enforcement and other agencies strengthened each organization's legitimacy and facilitated the acquisition of additional monies; however, the CRDA organizations stressed the need to maintain their focus on local strategies and avoid being pulled into broader agenda. Technical assistance provided by NTIC and NPIC was considered helpful by most CRDA organizations. Closing drug houses, creating drug-free school zones, and increasing church involvement in antidrug activities were major antidrug strategies employed by most of the CRDA organizations that generally met with success, but which were not without their problems.