Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990 TAG: 9003310630
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET CAMLIN NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Directors of youth programs in Southwest Virginia say they need the information now to plan their programs for the next two years.
"We're real anxious to see" the state report, Washington County Youth Director Buckey Boone said. "We expected it in December, then we expected it in February. Now we don't know when to expect it."
The 1989 Virginia Youth Survey was conducted last year by Gary Selnow, a former professor at Virginia Tech, for the Governor's Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems.
Selnow, now a consultant in Northern Virginia, completed his report in January and gave it to Attorney General Mary Sue Terry, who chairs the governor's council.
He said he did not know why the survey had not been approved yet. It was screened for errors by nearly 60 people, he said, and if there were any problems he would have been notified.
Terry plans to release the report at a state conference of the Commonwealth Alliance for Drug Rehabilitation and Education to be held April 29-May 1, said state CADRE Director Carole Roper.
Bert Roher, press spokesman for the attorney general, said the report is in draft form and will be released sometime in April. The projected cost of the survey was $90,000; it took nine months to complete.
Youth directors who did the groundwork for the survey at their local high schools said they are frustrated by the delay in releasing the report.
"We see an alcohol substance abuse problem here - probably - but we don't have any data to back it up with," Dickenson County Youth Director Melinda Wallen said. "It's hard to get in [the schools] and do prevention work without having figures to back you up."
Youth program directors interviewed said they need the report now to prepare their 1990-91 budget requests and two-year plans, which are due in mid-April.
In Washington County, Boone said he has local information but needs the statewide data to make comparisons.
"It's one thing to say 25 percent of 10th-graders smoke cigarettes, but if that's 50 percent higher than the state average, that tells us something else," he said.
James Sikkema, director of Community Mental Health Services in Roanoke, said he understands their frustrations.
"I don't blame them. They need it now, they don't need it in three or four months," he said. "It will give a lot of systems an opportunity to determine what type of programming they need."
The survey included questions about drug and alcohol use, attitudes and lifestyles, Selnow said. He said the survey reflects national statistics that show declining illegal drug use among high school seniors and college students.
by CNB