Arkansas Youth Drug-Use Reduction Program (AR-YDRP)

The Office of National Drug Control Policy
Congressionally Directed Spending

The AR-YDRP project’s overall purpose is to prevent drug use among youth aged 9-20 within all Arkansas communities. AR-YDRP is partnering with nationwide experts and collaborating with state agencies and officials to train specialized curriculum and education to youth. MidSOUTH has partnered with D.A.R.E. and Prevention Strategies, both national prevention experts.

D.A.R.E.

D.A.R.E. is an officer-led series of classroom lessons that teach children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives. Under this contract, mentor officer training will be provided to existing D.A.R.E. officers in the state of Arkansas allowing the program to continue beyond the funding period. All expenses for trainers and trainees (hotel, per-diem, travel, materials, stipends, etc.) and logistics will be provided by D.A.R.E. America for this mentor training and the two drug officer training courses. D.A.R.E will also provide ongoing support, fidelity monitoring, and needed curriculum enhancements specific to Arkansas as needed. For more information or to apply to have a D.A.R.E. program please contact Rafael Morales at Rafael.Morales@dare.org

Prevention Strategies

Prevention Strategies from the University of North Carolina Greensboro will complete a statewide needs assessment with focus groups for curriculum development and enhancements of the evidence-based All Stars Building Bright Futures Curriculum. These focus groups will ensure that the Arkansas-specific curriculum has grade-level content that is culturally and linguistically appropriate for Arkansas. Prevention Strategies will translate the enhanced curriculum into Spanish, including parent-facing materials and activities. Prevention Strategies will provide technical assistance for Arkansas educators and law enforcement officers to build their capacity to continue training selected curriculum.

Contact Information

For more information about the AR-YDRP please contact:
April Null
Arkansas Youth Drug Reduction Program Coordinator
Email: acnull@midsouth.ualr.edu
Phone: (501) 891-2964