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PRESIDENT BUSH ACTS
TO EMPOWER COMMUNITIES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUG ABUSE
Presidential Action
President Bush signed legislation that extends and expands the Drug-Free
Communities Support Program, which supports community-based efforts nationwide
to reduce the demand for illegal drugs. It's an important step forward
in the President's agenda for reducing illegal drug use through effective
education, prevention and treatment.
President Bush also called on the Senate to move forward with the Armies
of Compassion
legislation to support charitable organizations in America, including
many faith- and community-based institutions that are making remarkable
progress in preventing and treating drug abuse.
About the Drug-Free Communities Support Program
The President believes in a balanced approach to drug policy that emphasizes
not only efforts to reduce the supply of drugs coming into our country
from overseas, but also reducing the demand for drugs here at home.
The Drug-Free Communities Support Program supports community anti-drug
coalitions that harness local energy and resources to work together toward
the common goal of reducing substance abuse. Coalitions include local
partnerships between youth, parents, businesses, the media, schools, youth
organizations, law enforcement, religious or fraternal organizations,
civic groups, health care professionals, state, local or tribal governmental
agencies, and other organizations.
Activities include parent drug education programs, youth summits where
young people learn to resist drugs, local drug use surveys in middle and
high schools, drug intervention counseling services, tutoring and financial
incentives for businesses that adopt drug-free workplace programs. Coalitions
empower individuals and communities at the local level to join national
drug prevention efforts.
The President's Budget for FY02 provided more than $50 million for the
Drug-Free Communities Support Program, an increase of $10.6 million over
FY01. The legislation signed by the President today authorizes annual
increases that will meet the Presidential commitment to increase the size
of the program to nearly $100 million by FY07.
The Drug-Free Communities Support Program was created in 1997. Since then,
it has awarded 464 grants to coalitions in 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of these grants, approximately
35% were awarded to coalitions in urban areas, 17% in suburban communities,
39% in small towns or rural areas, and the remainder to other types of
communities. The maximum award is $100,000 per fiscal year, with each
grantee having to match federal dollars with non-federal funds or in-kind
support.
The President's Budget strongly supports other key demand reduction
initiatives, including:
- Narrowing
the treatment gap with a five-year commitment to increasing resources
for treatment services by $1.6 billion, including targeted treatment
programs for children and adolescents.
- Increasing
resources for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
- Securing
$180 million for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign to ensure
that vital anti-drug public service advertisements continue to reach
parents and children.
- Strongly
supporting Drug Courts and other criminal justice diversion programs
to help more Americans break the vicious cycle of addiction and incarceration.
For more
information on the President's initiatives, please visit
www.whitehouse.gov
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