NCJ Number
136373
Date Published
Unknown
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This pamphlet is intended to provide drug prevention specialists, planning committees, and others with basic information about a program in which adolescents become leaders in combating drug abuse among other youth, so that these decisionmakers can decide whether or not to establish the program.
Abstract
The TeamSpirit program was developed and pilot tested under the co-sponsorship of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Designed for high school youth, it aims to empower teenagers to take an active role in preventing alcohol and other drug abuse and the resulting impaired driving by their peers. The program begins with a 4-day summer leadership training conference attended by youth leaders and their adult sponsors. The young people create and conduct projects that they feel will work to counter drug use in their own communities. When school resumes, TeamSpirit members carry out their action plans. Resources needed include a sponsoring organization or organizations, a coordinator who will work part-time most of the year and full-time for several months before the conference, $13,000 to $18,000 for the conference itself, and limited financial support during the activities phase. A program manual details the steps involved in establishing TeamSpirit. Sources of additional information are included.