Parent Voices Wanted for Online Drug & Alcohol Survey

Take a Few Minutes To Help Keep Kids Safe

by Melany Gray

(July 3, 2008) “We’ve heard from our teens, now we’d like to hear from parents,” explained Janet Buchbinder, coordinator of RADAR, the community coalition that seeks to reduce underage drug and alcohol use. “We know a lot of teens are using alcohol and drugs in this community and we believe it is still a problem that requires attention. Parent input is needed in the equation for creating a solution.”

RADAR (short for Responsible Action: A Drug and Alcohol Resource) is seeking parents of current middle school and high school students to complete a short online survey about their thoughts and knowledge of substance use among the teens in the Larchmont-Mamaroneck community. The survey is anonymous and must be completed on or before July 11. If you qualify, follow the link to get to the survey: Parent Survey.

The results of the parent survey, along with those from a student survey taken this spring by students in grades six, seven, eight, ten and twelve, will be presented to the community at a meeting tentatively scheduled for December 1. The student survey is the same Communities that Care survey that was administered to more than a thousand local teens two years ago.

The 2006 student survey identified several troubling statistics. Nearly 60% of tenth graders (15- and 16-year-olds) admitted to drinking alcohol in the past thirty days, nearly twice the national average. Binge drinking (five plus drinks) in tenth graders was double the national average, and among seniors, exceeded the national average as well. In addition, 27.1% of eighth grade students (13- and 14-year-olds) admitted to drinking alcohol in the past thirty days, also significantly higher than the national average. (See: Alcohol and Drug Use Rises Among MHS Students.)

New this year is the parent piece of the puzzle. Many parents already have completed the survey, which was handed out in the spring at various parent meetings and was promoted through the MHS and Hommocks email newsletters. But RADAR needs to hear from more parents. “Having broad participation in these surveys helps RADAR identify the strengths and weaknesses of our community as it relates to substance use,” noted Ms. Buchbinder.

RADAR has been working for the past ten years to reduce underage drinking and drug use. The group includes representatives from the school district, local governments, houses of worship and local businesses, as well as students, parents and law enforcement officers. In 2006, the coalition received a five-year renewable $92,000 Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant from the federal government that will allow RADAR to better address substance use and abuse in our community. (See: RADAR Gets $500K* to Combat Teen Alcohol & Drug Use.)

In addition to the parent survey, the DFC grant has allowed RADAR to pursue a number of new initiatives, including training for Girl Scout leaders on risk and protective factors related to underage drinking and drug use, the Parents Who Host, Lose the Most-Don’t be a Party to Teenage Drinking awareness campaign, and the first Youth Dialogue Day, where a panel of MHS teens spoke to community leaders on issues of concern to them as teens in this community. RADAR is planning to bring back drug and alcohol expert Mike Nerney in January to speak to both students and parents.

Although excited about these initiatives, Ms. Buchbinder stressed the importance of having the parents’ voices in planning for the future. “We have learned that parents play a very important role in preventing substance abuse and the more RADAR understands the attitudes and knowledge level of our parents, the better we can provide additional support where it is needed,” she said. “RADAR hopes that parents will take a few minutes to participate in the survey -- which is anonymous -- in order to help keep kids safe.”

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