Who We Are - Overview

Drug-Free Communities Support Program

The Drug Free Communities Support Act is a federally funded program that allows Communities Against Substance Abuse to provide technical assistance and limited financial resources to communities in East San Diego County to develop long term, comprehensive prevention planning and implement youth focused prevention initiatives.

Currently, those communities that we are supporting with funding from the Drug Free Communities Act are El Cajon, Lemon Grove, and Santee. The funding comes from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and is a three-year grant.

In addition to the three communities cited above, the grant allows Communities Against Substance Abuse to provide assistance throughout the East County Region – a 2000 square mile area.

The overall goal of the grant is to build and support widespread community capacity to implement youth-focused prevention planning strategies in East San Diego County.

The long-term outcomes targeted are:

	A 25% reduction in arrests of adolescents for Drunk/Liquor Law violations from 1999 to 2003 as measured by law enforcement arrest data.
	A 20% reduction in use of tobacco by minors from 1999 to 2003, as measured by school surveys in partner communities.
	A 25% reduction in arrests of adolescents for Drug Law Violations from 1999 to 2003, as measured by law enforcement arrest data.
	A 15% improvement in school attendance at middle and high school levels from 1999 to 2003, as measured by year-end school attendance records in partner communities. Contact: Lorenzo Higley, Prevention Specialist (619) 442-2727 ext.113, e-mail: preventionspecialist@eccasa.org