This Spring, which we all hope arrives sooner rather than later, the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati will release the latest local data from the Pride Student Drug Use Survey. Sponsored by CDFGC every two years, the data serves as the driver for youth drug and alcohol prevention programs at all levels, across the region. This year will be the sixth cycle of the survey.

The survey represents a significant investment of CDFGC resources, financial and otherwise.  However, the CDFGC’s Board of Trustees makes this strategic choice to invest because it is a vital tool in our efforts to keep youth safe from the dangers of alcohol and other drug abuse.

The Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati is dedicated to data-driven decision making to support effective substance abuse prevention. Assessing the scope of the problem is necessary to gain a clear, unbiased understanding of the issues. The survey results help paint the picture of youth substance abuse patterns, including what influences those key, sometimes life changing, decisions.  The findings help direct our efforts to where we can be the most effective, honing our resources to address key influences, rather than guessing and hoping our work is on target. 

In addition to collecting information about youth drug and alcohol use rates, other indicators, such as attitudes, perceptions, and information about other related behaviors are collected. With all of these critical pieces, the survey data presents a detailed picture of youth substance abuse in the region and its consequences.

Analysis of the data trends allows the Coalition to complete a comprehensive community assessment of youth alcohol and drug use,inform the community and key leaders, plan more strategically, leverage funding, monitor progress and evaluate the effectiveness of prevention strategies. The richness of the data has allowed the Coalition to conduct and share in-depth analysis and research of the findings, resulting in stronger, more sustainable changes to the community’s youth substance abuse problem.

CDFGC staff and resident data crunchers will be spending the next weeks readying the data for its 2010 debut.  Certainly, we hope that we continue to see a decline in youth drug and alcohol use and evidence of a continued strengthening of our community’s willingness to protect our kids.  That said, please stay tuned for the release of the newest data trends this Spring, tentatively slated for early April.  Thank you for your support!