PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Use of alcohol and other drugs, including driving while impaired, is a growing problem among Kansas youth. The results of a 1996 school student survey of more than 7,500 Kansas youth from the fifth to twelfth grades identified some of the specific alcohol- and other drug-related problems:

• One in three (33 percent) of the students reported they had ridden with a drinking driver within the past month
• Approximately one in seven (15 percent) of the students reported to have driven after drinking within the past month
• Of the youth who reported drinking alcohol without parental permission, approximately three in four (76 percent) did so prior to the age of 15
• Fifty-nine percent (approximately three in five) of the students surveyed reported using alcohol at least once
• Approximately one in two students surveyed (52 percent) reported that they currently drink alcohol
• Thirty-two percent (approximately one in three) of the students surveyed reported that they considered it acceptable for students in their grade to drink alcohol

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In an effort to address these serious issues among Kansas youth, the Governor's Center for Teen Leadership (GCTL) developed the Elementary Traffic Safety Leadership Training program. Its primary goal is to alter the attitudes and behaviors of Kansas youth regarding use of alcohol and other drugs, particularly while a passenger or operator of a motor vehicle.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Elementary Traffic Safety Leadership Training is a prevention program targeting grade school students. This program was developed using the theory that it is with this age group that prevention needs to begin in order to develop healthy attitudes prior to increased pressure for experimentation with alcohol and other drugs.

The primary prevention activity was the development and delivery of non-residential leadership and traffic safety retreats to more than 320 fourth and fifth grade students at 10 elementary schools. The training retreats were held four times, for two days each during the 1997 school year, and featured the following workshops:

• Alcohol and occupant protection attitudes and behaviors
• Healthy attitudes and lifestyle development
• Self-esteem and healthy behaviors
• Leadership roles

RESULTS The GCTL will evaluate the four retreats using an evaluation model previously employed for other retreats conducted for this age group. The survey instruments will be distributed to the participants of the retreats six months after completion of the training, in order to measure progress in implementation of any action plans developed during the training. Because the retreats were conducted during the current year, an analysis of the results of the evaluation will be available in 1998.

FUNDING   Section 402: 73,067 CONTACT     Ron Alexander Governor's Center for Teen Leadership 3312 Clinton Parkway Lawrence, KS 66046 (785) 841–6077