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Government Reports LATEST REPORTS Policy and guidance Title: The new 10 year drug strategy, "Drugs: protecting families and communities" 2008-2018 Date: 2008 Author: Home Office Population: Families and communities in the UK Summary: The new 10 year drug strategy, "Drugs: protecting families and communities" 2008-2018 has been published. There are four strands of work within the strategy. The points of most interest to those working in drug prevention and young people are listed below: CUT the risk of drug use among young people We will do this by: * Working closely with parents through a new coalition of family charities (Alcohol Concern, DrugScope, Rethink, The Children's Society, Adfam, Addaction, Family Welfare Association); * Improving the information and guidance available to all parents to help them prevent young people's use of drugs, alcohol and volatile substances; * Continuing to offer credible and well-used drug advice and information to young people - including through FRANK; * Improving universal education and information for children and young people about drugs, alcohol and volatile substance misuse; * Examining what more schools and colleges can do to identify and support pupils at risk of substance misuse, those already misusing substances and those affected by parental substance misuse; * Involve families where appropriate in the treatment of young people misusing drugs; * Reducing the availability of alcohol, cigarettes and volatile substances through tougher action on illegal and underage sales; *Better tailoring of the drug treatment system to meet young people's needs, for example through parental involvement in treatment planning and at the important transition stage to adulthood; and * Increasing access to sporting and positive activities. CUT the number of families devastated by parental drug use We will do this by: * Providing family-based treatment services to protect more young people and families. Drug-using parents will continue to have quick access to treatment; * Helping families at risk to improve parenting skills and help parents to educate their children about the risks of drugs, support families to stay together and break the cycle of problems being transferred between generations, drawing on learning from innovative programmes and providing intensive support where needed; * Supporting extended family members, such as grandparents, who take on caring responsibilities for the children of drug using parents by looking at the circumstances in which local authorities can make payments to those caring for children classified as 'in need', backed up by improved information for carers and guidance for local authorities; and * Supporting parents with drug problems so that children do not fall into excessive or inappropriate caring roles. Title: Interventions in schools to prevent and reduce alcohol use among children and young people. NICE public health guidance 7. Date: November 2007 Author: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Population: children and young people Summary: The Department of Health (DH) asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE or the Institute) to produce public health guidance for use in primary and secondary schools on sensible alcohol consumption. The guidance also covers pupil referral units, secure training units, local authority secure units and further education colleges. The Public Health Interventions Advisory Committee (PHIAC) has considered a review of the evidence, an economic appraisal, stakeholder comments and the results of fieldwork in developing these recommendations. Details of PHIAC membership are given in appendix A. The methods used to develop the guidance are summarised in appendix B. Supporting documents used in the preparation of this document are listed in appendix E. Full details of the evidence collated, including fieldwork data and stakeholder comments, are available on the NICE website, along with a list of the stakeholders involved and the Institute’s supporting process and methods manuals. Title: Options for Excellence Building the Social Care Workforce of the Future Date: October 2006 Author: DH / DfES Population: Service users, carers Summary: Social care makes a substantial positive difference to people’s lives. It helps people retain or regain their independence and dignity. It helps them overcome difficult situations or transitions in their lives, giving them more choice and control, and rebuilding fractured relationships. It safeguards individual children and adults from harm, helps individuals who are more likely to harm others, and protects society from potential harm. Social care is vitally important to the estimated 2 million individuals (adults and children) who receive social care services in England. The social care workforce has been undergoing transformational change in recent years with a range of reforms and significant investment. The Care Standards Act 2000 put in place key structures to improve the quality of social care services. This included establishing the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), the General Social Care Council (GSCC), a Training Organisation for Personal Social Services (Topss) (now superseded Skills for Care (SfC) and the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC)), and the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). To improve on recent advances in the sector, the Options for Excellence Review of the social care workforce has been jointly led by the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). In particular the Review was asked to bring forward recommendations in order to: increase the supply of all workers within the sector, such as domiciliary care workers, residential care workers, social workers and occupational therapists and look at measures to tackle recruitment and retention issues; improve the quality of social care practice; define the role of social workers (including training and skill requirements); and develop a vision for the social care workforce in 2020 and a socio-economic case for improvements and investment in the workforce.
The report reviews present and future challenges and identifies a number of key priorities for action now and in the future. Title: Drug Classification: making a hash of it? Date: 07/06 Author: House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Population: Summary: By the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. This Report is the second of three case studies under the Committee’s over-arching inquiry into the Government’s handling of scientific advice, risk and evidence in policy making. It addresses the relationship between scientific advice and evidence and the classification of illegal drugs. In the course of this case study, we have looked in detail at the role played by, and workings of, the Government’s scientific advisory committee on drug classification and policy, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). We have identified a number of serious flaws in the way the Council conducts its business. Although the Council has produced useful reports explaining the rationale behind its recommendations on drug classification decisions, we found a lack of transparency in other areas of its work and a disconcerting degree of confusion over its remit. We also note that the ACMD has failed to adhere to key elements of the Government’s Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees. In response to these and other concerns about the Council’s operations, we have called for the Home Office to ensure that there is, in future, independent oversight of the Council’s workings. We have also highlighted the need for the ACMD to play a far more a proactive role in supporting the work of the Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills: the Government’s approach to drug education and treatment must be informed by scientific advice and stronger cross-departmental coordination will be vital if the Public Service Agreement targets on drugs policy are to be met. With respect to the ABC classification system, we have identified significant anomalies in the classification of individual drugs and a regrettable lack of consistency in the rationale used to make classification decisions. In addition, we have expressed concern at the Government’s proclivity for using the classification system as a means of ‘sending out signals’ to potential users and society at large—it is at odds with the stated objective of classifying drugs on the basis of harm and the Government has not made any attempt to develop an evidence base on which to draw in determining the ‘signal’ being sent out. We have found no convincing evidence for the deterrent effect, which is widely seen as underpinning the Government’s classification policy, and have criticised the Government for failing to meet its commitments to evidence based policy making in this area. More generally, the weakness of the evidence base on addiction and drug abuse is a severe hindrance to effective policy making and we have therefore urged the Government to increase significantly its investment in research. Finally, we have concluded that the current classification system is not fit for purpose and should be replaced with a more scientifically based scale of harm, decoupled from penalties for possession and trafficking. In light of the serious failings of the ABC classification system that we have identified, we urge the Home Secretary to honour his predecessor’s commitment to review the current system, and to do so without further delay. Title: Joining Forces Drugs: Guidance for Police Working with Schools and Colleges Date: 2006 Author: DrugScope and Alcohol Concern, for the Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Home Office Population: young people Summary: In this guidance we comment on the three main approaches to drug misuse: enforcement, treatment and education. The police have a key role to play in each. Enforcement is often seen as the major focus of police work but joint intervention with arrest–referral can help gain access to treatment and limit the impact of the criminal justice system on young people’s lives. Police working together with schools and colleges in an education setting can help to inform young people about drugs, the law and the potential risks and effects of using drugs. Research Title: Delivery of the Blueprint Programme Report Date: 11/07 Author: Stead, M., Stradling, B., Mackintosh, A. M., MacNeil, M., Minty, S., Eadie, D., and the Blueprint Evaluation Team Population: School-age young people in years 7 & 8 (age 11-13yrs) Summary: This report examines the implementation of Blueprint, and identifies lessons for policymakers, programme designers and practitioners. For each of Blueprint's components, it describes the original implementation plans and what was subsequently delivered, in other words, the extent to which actual implementation was consistent with intended delivery. Variations across different areas, communities, schools and different implementers are described and analysed. Title: Blueprint Drug Education Research Programme: Summary of delivery report and practitioner report research findings Date: 11/07 Author: Population: School-age young people in years 7 & 8 (age 11-13yrs) Summary: This summarises the findings in both the delivery report and the practitioner report. The paper is in twwo parts: Part 1 - key points of learning for drug education policy makers; Part 2 - key points of learning for drug education practitioners and programme designers. Title: Delivering Drug Education in the Classroom - Lessons from the Blurprint Programme Date: 11/07 Author: Stradling, R., MacNeil, M., Cheyne, B., Scott, J., and Minty, S. Population: School-age young people in years 7 & 8 (age 11-13yrs) Summary: This particular report presents findings from just one element of the Evaluation of the Blueprint Drug Use Prevention Programme, namely the systematic observations of the delivery of Blueprint lessons in the schools which piloted the programme in 2004-2005. The main purpose of the report is to highlight some of the findings which are particularly relevant to teachers engaged in drug education. Title: Predictive factors for illicit drug use among young people: a literature review Date: 0507 Author: Frisher, M., Crome, I., Macleod, J., Bloor, R., Hickman, M. Population: Young people Summary: There is a substantial epidemiological literature on factors associated with increased risk of illicit drug use among young people. Past reviews of this evidence have generally been unsystematic and thus prone to bias. The methodological quality of this evidence, and the validity of any conclusions that can be drawn from it, have often not been explicitly considered. The most recent substantive British review (Lloyd, 1998) highlighted the complex nature of the evidence but concluded that there are a number of high risk groups. These groups include the homeless, those looked after by local authorities, prostitutes, truants, those excluded from school, young offenders, children from families with substance abusing parents or siblings and young people with conduct or depressive disorder. However, the review was not systematic and few studies were cited that did not support the hypothesised links between risk factors and problem drug use. Title: Risk, protective factors and resilience to drug use: identifying resilient young people and learning from their experiences Date: 04/07 Author: Dillon, L., Chivite-Matthews, N., Grewal, I., Brown, R., Webster, S., Weddell, E., Brown, G., Smith, N. Population: Young people Summary: This report presents the findings of a study exploring young people’s resilience to drug use. There were two stages to this research. The first was multivariate analysis of the 2003 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS)1 data. This was carried out by the Home Office and aimed to explore risk factors associated with taking drugs and identify a sample of young people within the OCJS sample who could be considered resilient to drug use. The second stage was a qualitative study of the views and experiences of a sample of these young people, exploring the nature of their resilience to drug use. This was carried out by the Qualitative Research Unit at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen).2 This research supports Home Office Aim 5, which seeks to reduce drug use among young people, in particular the most vulnerable groups. The study was commissioned by the Home Office. Title: Identifying and exploring young people’s experiences of risk, protective factors and resilience to drug use Date: 2007 Author: Home Office Population: Young people Summary: The Home Office commissioned research in 2004 to explore risk, protective factors and resilience to drug use in young people. This report highlights key findings from a literature review, analysis of the 2003 Offending Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) and a qualitative study of the views and experiences of a sample of young people from the OCJS who could be considered resilient to drug use. There are relatively well established associations between several risk and protective factors and problematic drug use among young people but these associations are not necessarily causal. Problematic drug use and drug use risk factors may be symptomatic of the troubled lives experienced by some young people. These risk factors may be used to identify vulnerable groups so that drug prevention programmes can be targeted at these groups who are at increased risk of drug use. Some programmes, such as those targeting parental monitoring or aiming to enhance young peoples’ social skills, have shown some evidence of benefit though no prevention programmes have so far shown substantial effects. However, Caulkins et al. (2002) demonstrated that only small effects are required for the benefits from relatively inexpensive universal prevention programmes, such as school-based drug prevention programmes, to outweigh their costs. Resilience results from a complex interplay of factors which can be conceptualised as three inter-related thinking styles and behaviours: – the view that ‘drugs are not for me’; Resilience may be context and time dependent; thus individuals may respond differently to the same situations and Title: Positive Futures impact report: end of season review Date: 03/06 Author: Positive Futures Team, Home Office Population: Vulnerable young people Summary: Positive Futures is a national sports-based social inclusion programme, managed up to the end of March 2006 from within the Home Office Drug Strategy Directorate. It is currently delivered through 115 local partnership projects located throughout England and Wales. Following its launch in 2000 and the roll-out of two phases of projects, Positive Futures produced a strategy document that outlined the programme’s guiding principles and objectives for the next three-year strategy period to March 2006. Published in June 2003, Cul-de-sacs and gateways provides the benchmark against which to assess the programme’s achievements as it moves towards the end of this period. In Cul-de-sacs and gateways, Positive Futures set itself some ambitious goals. Almost three years on it is clear that many of these goals have been met. Title: Young people and drugs. Key findings: intensive fieldwork into early identification and intervention with vulnerable young people in Bolton, Camden and Hull. Date: 02/06 Author: Home Office, DSD Population: Vulnerable young people. Summary: As a part of a wider programme of identifying promising practice and sharing learning on effectivedrug prevention, early intervention and treatment in late 2005 officials from the Home Office, Department for Education and Skills and the National Treatment Agency with assistance from the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister undertook a piece of intensive fieldwork in 3 local areas in order to: · Identify and share experience and approaches to early identification and intervention withvulnerable young people in three High Focus Areas Background Analysis of progress in implementing the Every Child Matters Young People and Drugs guidance at mid year 2005 highlighted that interventions with truants have presented the greatest challenge to High Focus Areas. Progress on identification and early intervention with looked after children was also variable across the country. Performance data indicated that High Focus Areas achieving high numbers of young people accessing treatment services have strong systems in place for identification of vulnerable groups. In order to maximise the impact of the visits they were therefore focused on the way in which 3 areas were building provision around the needs of vulnerable children and young people. In addition the fieldwork is aiding the development of a drugs toolkit for regeneration practitioners by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, by specifically looking at local responses to substance misuse in areas affected by multiple deprivation. The September 2005 Young People and Drugs Programme Board agreed that the intensive fieldwork should focus on truants, excludees and looked after children in Bolton, Camden and Hull to generate practical examples which could be used in other areas to support the engagement of mainstream services. Epidemiology Title: Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2006 Date: 08/07 Author: Bates,B., Blenkinsop, S., Clemens, S., Deverill, C., Hills, A., Li, N., Mackenzie, H., Wilson, S. Population: 11 - 15 yr olds in England Summary: Smoking Two fifths (39%) of pupils have tried smoking at least once. The proportion of pupils who In 2006, 9%of pupils smoked regularly (at least once a week). This has remained at the Families were an important influence on pupils’ smoking. Those who lived with other The report also includes findings on pupils’ patterns of cigarette consumption, beliefs and Drinking alcohol More than half of pupils aged between 11 and 15 have had at least one alcoholic drink in The proportion of pupils who drank in the last seven days has fallen from 26%in 2001. Pupils are more likely to be given alcohol than to buy it, most commonly by family or friends. As pupils grow older, the context in which they drink changes. Eleven year olds who drank On balance, families were more likely to steer pupils towards sensible drinking than to A fifth (20%) of pupils said they had been drunk in the last four weeks, although their The report also includes findings on pupils’ patterns of drinking, attitudes and beliefs, and Drug use In 2006, 35%of pupils reported that they had ever been offered drugs, a decrease from The prevalence of drug use had also declined since 2001. In 2006, 24%of pupils said they Recent drug use was associated with regular smoking and recent drinking. Pupils who had The proportions of pupils who took drugs at least once a month (4%) was lower than in Smoking, drinking and drug use These findings show a consistent pattern of differences between the prevalence of While more than half of pupils felt that their parents would take a tolerant attitude towards The proportions of pupils who smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs each increase with age. The report also includes findings about sources of helpful information about smoking, About the National Foundation for Educational Research The National Foundation for Educational Research has been engaged in educational Title: Statistics on Drug Misuse: England, 2007 Date: 04/07 Author: The Information Centre Population: Illicit drug users aged 16 - 59 yrs old. Summary: this annual statistical bulletin presents information on drug misuse among both adults and children. The topics covered include: Main findings: Among adults aged 16 to 59 living in England and Wales Title: Drug misuse declared: findings from the British Crime Survey 2005/06 England and Wales Date: 10/06 Author: Roe S., Man L. Population: Illicit drug users aged 16 - 59 yrs old. Summary: This statistical bulletin considers the extent of illicit drug use among 16 to 59 year olds in England and Wales in 2005/06 and trends in drug use since 1998 (the beginning of the Government’s Drug Strategy) based on data from the British Crime Survey. It particularly focuses on young people. It also looks at demographic and geographical variations in drug use as well as cocaine powder use and drug use amongst former truants and excludees. i The report shows that among young people aged 16 to 24 years old between 1998 and 2005/06 use of any illicit drug decreased and Class A drug use remained stable. For the 16 to 59 year old age group, between 1998 and 2005/06 the use of any illicit drug decreased and Class A drug use increased. The increase in Class A drug use is mainly due to a comparatively large increase in cocaine powder use between 1998 and 2000 Between 2000 and 2005/06 the use of Class A drugs has remained stable. Title: Drug Treatment in the North West of England, 2005/06. Results from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) Date: 07/06 Author: Khundakar A., Marr A., McVeigh J., Bellis M.A., NDTMS Population: Clients in contact with structured treatment services. (high threshold tier 3 and 4). Summary: The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) was established in 2001 to collect data on all clients in contact with structured (high threshold tier 3 and 4) treatment services. NDTMS figures are used as a key source for monitoring the number of individuals in contact with drug treatment services, whilst also being the basis for examining the success of the Government’s commitment to double the number of individuals in drug treatment between 1998 and 2008. The NDTMS regional team, based within the North West Public Health Observatory at the Centre for Public Health, collects data from all treatment providers in the North West on behalf of the National Treatment Agency (NTA). Analysis of data collected from all structured drug treatment providers in the North West during 2005/06 revealed the following findings: Between April 1st 2005 and March 31st 2006 there were 35469 individuals in contact with drug treatment services in the North West. There has been 27.09% increase in the number of individuals in contact with treatment services in comparison to 2003/04 when the equivalent figure was 27909. The number of individuals in contact with services has increased by 59.0% in comparison to 2001/02. All Drug (and Alcohol) Action Team (D(A)AT) areas across the North West experienced a rise in the number of individuals in treatment services between 2001/02 and 2005/06. Regionally, 1.28% of the population in the North West, aged 15-44, were in contact with drug treatment services. There was variation in the prevalence of those in contact with treatment according to D(A)AT area. The prevalence of those in contact with treatment, aged 15-44, ranged from 0.72% in Cumbria to 2.80% in Blackpool. Areas with high levels of deprivation (according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation) such as Liverpool and Manchester were more likely to contain higher prevalence levels of those in contact with treatment services in comparison to areas with low levels of deprivation, such as Cheshire, Stockport and Warrington. Title: Statistics on Young People and Drug Misuse. England 2006 Date: 25/05/06 Author: The Information Centre , Lifestyles Statistics. Population: Young people. Summary: This statistical bulletin presents information on drug misuse among young people. The key sources used within this publication are Drug Use, Smoking and Drinking among Young People in England, The British Crime Survey, Drug Offenders in England and Wales and The Offending, Crime and Justice Survey. The main findings are • In 2005, 11% of secondary school children in England reported using drugs in the month prior to interview while 19% reported using drugs in the year prior to interview; • Among 11 year olds, 4% had sniffed volatile substances in the last year while 1% had taken cannabis. Among 15 year olds, 7% reported using volatile substances compared to 27% who used cannabis; • Among secondary school children who had taken drugs in the year prior to interview in 2003, 43% reported wanting to give up immediately, but 13% said they did not want to stop; • In 2003, 17% of secondary school children thought it was acceptable to try cannabis, 10% thought it acceptable to try sniffing glue and 4% believed it OK to try cocaine; • 26.3% of young adults aged 16-24 reported using drugs in the year prior to interview in England and Wales in 2004/05. 16.3% had used drugs in the month prior to interview. Almost half (45.8%) reported that they had ever used drugs; • More young men than young women reported using drugs in the year prior to interview (32.9% compared with 20.8%); • Between 1998 and 2004/05, the reported prevalence of drug use among young adults in the month prior to interview decreased from 20.8% to 16.3% and in the year prior to interview decreased from 31.8% to 26.3%; • Among young people aged between 10 and 25 living in England and Wales in 2004 who had ever used drugs, almost half (48%) reported first using a drug between the ages of 10 and 15; • Deaths related to drug misuse fell between 2000 and 2004. Among young people under the age of 30, deaths fell from 583 to 401. http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/youngpeopledrugmisuse2006 Prevention Title: Hidden Harm: Next Steps: supporting children - working with parents Date: 05/06 Author: Scottish Executive Population: Children of drug using parents Summary: “Hidden Harm” vividly describes the situation of many children and young people living in substance misusing households. They often suffer in silence; they are often not known to services; they often do not know to whom they can turn for help; and the impact of poor parenting on them can have long-lasting and devastating effects.All professionals who come in contact with substance misusers and/or their children have a responsibility to ensure that children in these circumstances are identified as early as possible and are given appropriate support and protection. Early identification and the right kind of support – both for parents and children – can often mean that children can remain with their parents, but there are some circumstances, for example, serious and chaotic drug use, when the risks to the child are so severe, that staying with their parents cannot be an option. For all professionals the needs of the child must take precedence over the needs of the drug using adult. This document identifies, and brings together, a range of actions and initiatives that the Scottish Executive is taking forward and will take forward, in partnership with a range of local partners – Alcohol and Drug Action Teams (ADATs), NHS Boards, local authorities, the police, the courts and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and their partner agencies – to improve the way in which agencies identify, protect and support children and young people Title: Hidden HarmThree Years On :Realities, Challenges and Opportunities Date: 02/06 Author: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) Population: Vulnerable children and young people Summary: The purpose of this report is threefold: • To describe and comment on progress on implementation of the recommendations of the original Hidden Harm report in the four countries of the United Kingdom, since its publication and dissemination in 2003. Title: Models of care for the treatment of adult drug misusers: Update 2005 Date: 10/05 Author: National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) Population: Adult drug misusers Summary: Models of care for the treatment of adult drug misusers (NTA, 2002)1, hereafter Models of care 2002, set out the national framework for commissioning the treatment of adult drug misusers in England. The document describes best practice in drug ttreatment provision. The NTA is now consulting on an update of that document – Models of care for the treatment of adult drug misusers: Update 2005 (hereafter Models of care: Update 2005). This update is intended to build on the framework and concepts in Models of care 2002 rather than totally replace them. It requires drug treatment commissioners and providers to have implemented the key tenets previously described in Models of care 2002 including: the four-tiered model of commissioning, local screening and assessment systems, care planning and co-ordination of care at the heart of structured drug treatment, and the development of integrated care pathways. In addition to the above, there is now a greater focus required from commissioners and providers of drug treatment on improving clients’ journeys and the effectiveness of drug treatment. This update is written in a similar format to Models of care part 1 (2002), and is intended fully to replace it. Models of care part 2: full reference report (2002), summarises much of the evidence base and is still relevant as a valuable reference source. Whilst the NTA does not have statutory responsibility regarding drug treatment in prisons, NOMS has committed to ensure alignment of services and to implement Models of care in prisons. Models of care: Update 2005 outlines: Discussion Title: Review of Second Tier Activity in the Drugs Sector: Final Report Date: 12/06 Author: Bright, C. Population: drugs voluntary and community sector (VCS) Summary: NCCDP Summary of Home Office and Department of Health Overview The Home Office Crime and Drug Strategy Directorate (CDSD) and Department of Health (DH) jointly commissioned a review of second tier activity in the drugs voluntary and community sector (VCS). The Government and the VCS thought that current arrangements were not meeting all the needs of the VCS in the areas of effective representation, advice, information and support. Furthermore, the need for an effective umbrella body will become more pressing when the National Drug Strategy comes to an end in 2008 and VCS input will be important in developing a new strategy. Between July and September 2006 Cordis Bright gathered evidence by conducting one to one interviews with stakeholders within the CDSD, DH, NTA, and chief executives of key service-providing and umbrella VCOs in the drugs sector. VCS providers ended focus groups and structured questionnaires were distributed to VCOs and Drug Action Teams. This paper sets out key findings from the review and options for addressing the issues identified. See: http://www.drugs.gov.uk/publication-search/drug-strategy/secondtierreview?view=Binary Summary of Prevention Related Issues Some stakeholders expressed the view that the drugs VCS operates in ‘silos’ and that the sector not only tends to view itself as separate from the wider voluntary sector but also contains different groupings, based on different philosophies about the right approach to drug treatment and education. Most of those interviewed thought that the drugs sector should connect more with other agencies dealing with issues that affect drug users. It was thought that the workforce should be more mobile. Almost all of the interviewees agreed that second tier agencies do not adequately meet the needs of the VCS for representation to the Government, guidance on evidence gathering and good practice, bringing the VCOs together, and policy analysis and debate. This was supported by some of the comments made by respondents to the questionnaire. Second tier agencies were seen as being reasonably effective at representing drugs issues to the public and producing regular information and publications for the sector. VCOs are concerned that they do not have equal access to policy makers. They felt that this was partly due to the fact that second tier organisations do not operate democratically and partly because Government departments are inconsistent in their dealings with VCOs, appearing to favour some over others and to be unclear about which agencies they are engaging with and why. There is a great need for an independent umbrella body that can involve and reflect the views of many VCOs and have transparent processes for consultation and representation, according to stakeholders. Stakeholders see the VCS forum, set up by the CDSD as a means of bringing forward issues but it is thought that more work is needed to engage the wider VCS. According to this paper, members of the VCS forum are putting together proposals for engaging with smaller providers. These include regional forums, a website, an annual learning event and the facilitation of engagement with other networks. Key issues for the drugs sector During this review, interviewees gave specific examples of issues they felt were not being represented to the Government or had not been taken on board in policy development. Their views were not shared by all who took part but those points that were raised by more than one interviewee were listed. · There was concern over the need to recognise the link between substance misuse and mental health problems, and for policy to reflect this. · It was felt that drugs policy could do more to tackle cross cutting issues, including housing, employment, mental health, issues for young people and education. · There needs to be more UK-based research into drug misuse and the efficacy of different approaches to tackling the problem. However, it was suggested that Government, rather than the VCS, should take the lead on commissioning substantial pieces of research. · More work needs to be done on definitions of effectiveness and the monitoring of the outcomes of drugs services. · The involvement of service users in policy development and analysis is weak in comparison with other sectors.
There was a general view that there is a clear need for a second tier body or bodies to exist. Government stakeholders say they want a body that can represent issues from the VCS but they disagree whether this should be “one voice” representing the whole of the VCS or whether Government need to hear a range of views. There was general agreement that such representation is critical in keeping policy makers abreast of developments and issues from practice and from providers’ contact with service users. There is also a general view that a ‘healthy’ VCS is a crucial part of delivering the National Drugs Strategy. There is general acceptance in the VCS that the drugs VCS is difficult to represent but almost all agreed that robust representation is needed and has been missed. The VCOs surveyed highlighted access and representation to national policy makers as the most important priority for action by umbrella bodies. In general, Government policy makers say they welcome constructive criticism and challenge from an independent body linked to practice. It was thought that an umbrella body could play a useful role in bringing different groups together, including different parts of Government and in enabling a holistic view of issues for adults, children and families and of problematic drug use in the context of others issues affecting drug users, such as housing, employment and education. It was suggested that the VCS needs a body to help with gathering and presenting evidence of the effectiveness of their work. There has been a change in VCS expectations of an umbrella body. They now talk about working constructively with Government to deliver ‘common aims’ rather than campaigning or opposing Government position, It was suggested that a research body is also needed, but that commissioning research from external bodies would be more cost effective than funding a research function within an umbrella body. The majority of interviewees were in favour of retaining a sector-specific body for the drugs sector. This is because they held the view that issues around drugs and alcohol were different. There was considerable agreement that the critical components for an effective second tier are: · Representing issues for the VCS to Government. · Analysing and commenting on policy implementation and policy development. · Providing information, advice and support to members, specifically on: o Key developments in practice
· Organising and facilitating cross-sector communication. · Developing an evidence base (by bringing organisations together to share evidence on effectiveness). · Making links with policy and representative bodies in other sectors (e.g. mental health, housing). · Challenging Government as a ‘critical friend’ with strength and legitimacy coming from the membership base and knowledge of the evidence from the ground. · Influencing public opinion about drugs. There was some agreement on what a national second tier agency for the drugs sector should not do: · Issue specific and detailed guidance on good practice. This is the role of the NTA and in some instances, individual service providers. · House a library – the management of hard copy material might be better undertaken by a university, which could incorporate DrugScope library. Material is now more freely available on the web. A second tier organisation could signpost members to web-based information resources. · Provide practical services to help organisations with issues of organisation and management. Other organisations provide this already. · Provide consultancy and training. This duplicates the work done by tier one organisations and the NTA and detracts from the representative role. There are some functions that could be undertaken by a national second tier organisation but might also be undertaken by others. These include the commissioning of research – a second tier agency might sometimes do this but might also play a role in highlighting to Government issues that needed further research. Second tier organisations might lack the finance to commission large scale research of the kind that might be useful in policy development, and would lack the capacity to undertake the work themselves. A second tier organisation might also campaign against Government policy, bringing the flaws in that policy or challenges in implementation to the attention of Government. However, there is a view that an agency funded by Government should not campaign against Government policy. NCCDP Summary of Appendix One: Findings from the survey of voluntary and community organisations Profile of respondents 98 survey responses were received. Of these 98 respondents, 83% were from the voluntary sector. Almost half of the organisations (47%) had a local focus with 16% reporting to have a regional focus and 20%, a national focus. Twenty four percent reported that they provide drug education and support, 19% targeted problematic alcohol use, 14% focused on the rehabilitation of drug users, 11% worked in the area of mental health/dual diagnosis with 12% describing there work as ‘other’. There was a wide range of client groups catered for by the services, these included offenders (16%), children and young people (15%), women (13%), families (13%) and 12% of the organisations reported the provision of generic non-targeted support. Types of support used Respondents reported that the source they used the most was Drugscope, with 41 respondents out of the 98 saying that they use its services either ‘regularly’ or ‘sometimes’. Alcohol concern was also used ‘regularly’ or ‘sometimes’ by 29 respondents and local CVS by 24 respondents. In terms of information sources, the most regularly used was drink and drug news reported by 40 respondents, followed by the daily dose (32), drugs.gov.uk (28) and the drug scope website (24). Drug and Alcohol Action Teams were also reported to be regularly used for support and advice (34) as was the National Treatment Agency (32). Quality of regular support Using a four point Likert scale from poor to excellent, organisations were asked to rate the quality of support. Few rated the support as excellent with the majority rated between ‘fair’ and ‘good’. Research briefings, training, consultancy, advice on effective practice, advice on developing quality standards and information on policy received the highest ratings. It was suggested that it should be easier and clearer to access information and advice. There should be improved joint working and networking. It was also suggested that there should be more support on good practice for practitioners. Support required now and in the future It was found that the support was currently most needed in accessing or representation to policy makers, advice on funding/fundraising, advice on commissioning, and lobbying on specific issues. It was also found that organisations felt support and improved access was needed in relation to training (both quality of training and cost), policy and strategy development and also commissioning. It was found that support needed in the future was similar to what was needed now. Funding and fundraising, representation, and commissioning were the top three. Representation needs Organisations were asked to the extent they agreed with a number of statements, using a 5 point likert scale, 1 being strongly disagree, 5 being strongly agree. The results suggested that there is a need to improve levels of representation within the sector, with a focus on local and national policymakers. Evaluation Title:FRANK review 2004-2006 Date:02/07 Author:Home Office, Department of Health, Department for Education and Skills Population:Young people and their families Summary: Summary of the FRANK review 2004-2006 The FRANK campaign has been providing drug advice and information to young people and their families since 2003. It has become an important part of the government’s overall strategy of prevention and early intervention with vulnerable young people. FRANK received their 1 millionth call in the summer of 2005 and there were 5.7 million visits to the website through 2005-2006. FRANK achieved its highest ever levels of awareness in March 2006 and exceeded many of its other Government set key performance indicators on affinity and satisfaction. Over the last two years FRANK has continued to deliver its key campaign messages through: FRANK has also increased the level of support provided to local services to run local campaigns. One main development has been the introduction of 30 “high focus areas” where vulnerable young people are targeted. Talktofrank.com The site has included some Special features: ”Teen Tribes” was a quiz which identified which ”Tribe” visitors belonged to e.g. a “ Mosher”, “Townie” “Gansta” or “Goth” and linked supposed drug use to some of these groups. “Natural High” looked at how young people spent their free time. “Habbo Hotel” is a regular FRANK feature which hosts a virtual bus where young people can “hang out” with their virtual friends or talk to FRANK advisors in moderated sessions. “Drug and Drop was an animated feature telling visitors about the effects of drugs and delivering the message that “there’s no way of knowing what the effects will be until you’ve taken it”. There is also an email function where advisors can be emailed for information or advice. In the year to March 2006 FRANK received nearly 30,000 emails. FRANK works closely with the main government drugs website: www.drugs.gov.uk The helpline - 0800 77 66 00: Advertising: There were three bursts of radio advertising in 2004-2005 using existing adverts and three new ones were developed for 2005-2006: “Ganj Mate”, “Druid Rubbish” (with messages about cannabis) and “Lucky Dip”. Over the last two years, FRANK has used online advertising, for example banner adverts and interactive polls and quizzes on some of the most popular youth sites such as mykindaplace.com. This online advertising was used to promote FRANK as a credible and reliable source of information, as well as highlighting the risk elements of drug taking. Among younger audiences and recent cannabis users, the most effective channels were television and online advertising. Some of the most well received basic messages from the FRANK campaign have been: · It’s OK to talk about drugs Public relations activity: FRANK PR activity has used themes of leisure, music, sport and teenage social life to generate articles and publicity. The emphasis has moved from building awareness and affinity with FRANK to establishing FRANK’s credibility as the best source of information and advice on drugs. PR activity has also sought to reach vulnerable young people, enabling them to “overhear” the key campaign messages. In 2004-2005 the strategy focused on extending media coverage to include teen online media as well as national tabloids, magazines and TV channels with a high proportion of parent viewers. Recently there has been increased emphasis on reaching the professional and trade press, in order to raise awareness among practitioners in drugs services and in other children’s services. Partnership marketing: The BT Internet kiosks resulted in a significant increase in visitors to talktofrank.com and phone calls to the helpline. During August (the school holidays) a peak was reached with a total of 21,838 impressions on talktofrank.com which represents 26,639 minutes spent surfing the site. Statistics show that users would visit the home page and then click through to other areas of the site. There was an increase in calls made to the helpline in August as well (169 in total). Habbohotel was very popular with a queue for the bus each session. Young people became more aware of FRANK through Habbo and there was an increase in calls and emails because of this. Over the 6 month period from October 2005 to March 2006, the FRANK helpline reported approximately 555 additional calls. JazzyMedia conducted research across a sample of seven secondary schools involved in the campaign. This showed that the posters resulted in an increase of 28% in spontaneous awareness of FRANK; 80% of students recalled seeing the posters; 89% of students who recalled seeing the poster could accurately report what the artwork was about; school panel posters were ranked highest after TV in media attribution and considerably higher than press; 14% of students reported that they had told their friend or a family member about the posters. Dubplate Drama had a high volume of visitors to the site, with a total of 2.5 million in 2005 alone. Each visitor to the site would have seen the FRANK logo on the homepage, and 158 visitors clicked through to talktofrank.com. The FRANK logo and link were also featured on C4 Music for six weeks as well as being on the C4 homepage as part of the Dubplate editorial. Traffic from the C4 pages resulted in 1,072 visitors to talktofrank.com over the duration of the series. Addictive Interactive has generated a high volume of visitors to the FRANK profile as well as photo ratings of FRANK. Guest book entries to FRANK included many complimentary comments. Media Sponsorship: Stakeholder Support: FRANK’s support for stakeholders has been very well received and local stakeholders are, in general, very satisfied with the quality of support they receive from the FRANK team. Nearly half are incorporating FRANK in their local campaigns and the vast majority rate such activities a success. Specific activity has included: New FRANK Action Updates - including packs on vulnerable young people, understanding diversity and a pack to help demystify youth culture and targeted support for 30 “high focus areas” where the FRANK stakeholder support team has worked directly with them to introduce a series of successful street marketing campaigns that have engaged young people in providing peer-to-peer support. Campaign materials and resources for young people: Frank Action Updates Materials for young people FRANK for parents FRANK in 2006-2007 and beyond The Experience FRANK campaign has been set some new, additional performance indicators for 2006-2007, focused on attitudes that are known to be linked to risk behaviour: perceptions of drug users – so that users are not seen as aspirational; perceptions of the risks of drugs – so that more people perceive drugs as a significant risk; drug norms – so that taking drugs is not seen as the norm; resistance skills – so that more people can resist peer-pressure and feel comfortable saying “No” to drugs. The campaign has an additional KPI based around treatment: Treatment – widening the perception of who might benefit from treatment. Channels: Media sponsorship PR PR will also be used to communicate messages to parents around volatile substance abuse and messages about treatment to heavy users and parents. This will be done in conjunction with the National Treatment Agency. FRANK’s PR initiatives will strongly complement the other elements of the campaign. Partnership marketing Talktofrank.com Helpline Stakeholder support Campaign materials · General drug information materials and a range of leaflets specifically focussed on cannabis. · There will be a more tailored range of information for vulnerable young people. This will support the development of life skills and the promotion of self esteem. · FRANK will produce a new range of postcards designed to capture audience attention, some of which feature wry messages to illustrate the downside of drug use, and others which are designed to be used as part of a quiz or to stimulate discussion around drugs. · New action updates and a range of other resources are likely to be produced for stakeholders. Mentoring programme Title: Evaluation of Drug Interventions Programme pilots for children and young people: arrest referral, drug testing and Drug Treatment and Testing Requirements Date: 07/07 Author: Matrix Research and Consultancy and Institute for Criminal Policy Research, Kings College Population: Young people who have been arrested and are at risk of problematic drug use Summary: The Drug Interventions Programme (previously the Criminal Justice Interventions Programme) for Children and Young People was launched in 2003 to pilot: arrest referral schemes for children and young people (10- to 17-year-olds) in ten on-charge drug testing of 14- to 17-year-olds under Section 5 of the Criminal Justice Drug Treatment and Testing Requirements (DT(T)Rs) to be attached to Action Plan The aims of the interventions were initially to identify young people at risk of problematic drug • reduce substance misuse, particularly Class A drug use;2 Pilot sites were provided with guidance and support from the Home Office and, within parameters, were also given flexibility to develop their own approaches to implementation within their local context, particularly in relation to arrest referral. This is the final report of the 18-month evaluation of the programme that began in April 2004. The evaluation was undertaken by Matrix Research and Consultancy (Matrix), in partnership with the Institute of Criminal Policy Research (ICPR) and a panel of experts. ARCHIVED REPORTS LISTED ALPHABETICALLY Young People Canning U, Millward L, Raj T, Warm D (2004) Drug Use Prevention among young people: a review of reviews. Health Development Agency: London. Generally, the effectiveness of drug prevention programmes has tended to be assessed in relation to so-called ‘gateway’ drugs, such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, rather than specifically illicit drug use. The impact of drug prevention programmes on illicit drug use has not been adequately reviewed (Black et al., 1998). However, a number of points about the effectiveness of interventions can be made, as follows: · Evidence shows that school-based interventions aimed at adolescents can delay for a short time the start of substance misuse by non-users, and temporarily reduce use by some current users, although the effects decrease with time (White and Pitts, 1998) · Universal prevention programmes appear to be more effective for lower-risk adolescents than those at higher risk (Windle and Windle, 1999) · Review evidence suggests that one US life skills training (LST) programme (Botvin et al., 1990, 1995) demonstrated some continuing success five years after the end of the programme (White and Pitts, 1998). Although a recent external evaluation suggests that neither LST nor other primary prevention programmes are likely to have a major impact on drug use and drug problems, LST is one of the few programmes that has been extensively evaluated and for which there is research evidence of a small but positive impact on drug use (Coggans et al., 2003). · Review evidence suggests that interactive educative programmes using peers are more effective than non-interactive interventions in preventing drug misuse (Black et al., 1998). · Information-based programmes, including project DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), led by police officers have not had much effect on substance misuse behaviour (Ennett et al., 1994a, 1994b in Allott et al., 1999). For British settings see Noble, 1997; Whelan and Culver, 1997, in Allott et al., 1999. · Teacher-led programmes in Britain fall into three groups; Curricular programmes; Theatre in Health Education (THE); and resource packs · Evaluation results of one curricular programme that has been delivered and evaluated in Britain, Project CHARLIE (Chemical Abuse Resolution Lies in Education), reported prevention of drug use in a small sample of young people who received the programme in primary school and who were followed up in secondary school (see Lloyd et al., 2000). · A qualitative assessment of THE delivered in eight British schools (Fine and Durrant, 1996, in Allott et al., 1999) suggests that the programme was more effective in changing attitudes than merely providing information, although more research is needed · An evaluation of the Lambeth Drug Prevention Team’s Drug Studies Resource Pack concluded that the pack was extremely effective in raising awareness, although more research is necessary (Fine and Durrant, 1996, in Allott et al., 1999). · In peer-led interventions, the child or young person delivering the programme tends to benefit most from the experience (Parkin and McKeganey, 2000). · British parent-oriented programmes have not been adequately evaluated, although there is an indication that such programmes are poorly attended. Attendance is even lower among parents who drink and smoke more heavily, suggesting that programmes might stigmatise these parents and so discourage high-risk families from attending (Cohen and Linton, 1995, in Allott et al., 1999). · Components of effective programmes Effective programmes include those that modify attitudes and/or normative beliefs and/or impact on behaviour, such as preventing or reducing drug use. · Effective programmes have tended to include booster sessions (White and Pitts, 1998). · Intensive programmes given a large amount of curriculum time (eg 10 or more sessions) have been shown to be effective, although intensity alone does not necessarily ensure effectiveness (White and Pitts, 1998). · The effectiveness of individual elements included in multicomponent programmes have not been sufficiently assessed; evaluations tend to be limited to comparisons of the effects of the whole programme (Allott et al., 1999). What we don’t know · Most British interventions are not properly evaluated in terms of their outcome, making it hard to judge their effectiveness. · There is a lack of good ‘sound’ evidence for targeted interventions not based in schools (White and Pitts, 1998). · There is a lack of evaluated curricular programmes targeting primary school age children (Lloyd et al., 2000). · While studies show the impact of programmes on attitudes, knowledge, resistance skills and intentions of preadolescent children (for example, Ambtman et al., 1990; Church et al., 1990, in Lloyd et al., 2000), very few have examined impact on behaviour in the long term (Lloyd et al., 2000). Methodological issues · Weaknesses in evaluations, such as low participation rates and inappropriate choice of outcome measures, mean that there is a limit to the conclusions that can be drawn from them (Allott et al., 1999). More rigorous evaluation, together with development of alternative evaluation strategies, are required. · Because drug taking is illegal, it is often difficult to identify, recruit and retain participants. · Many studies over-rely on self-reporting, and very few use more objective data, such as saliva or blood tests (White and Pitts, 1998). Coggans NT, Cheyne B, McKellar S (2003) The Life Skills Training Drug Education Programme: a review of research. Scottish Executive Effective Interventions Unit: Scottish Executive Drug Misuse Research Programme. Millward L, Warm D, Coomber R et al (2004) Evidence for effective drug prevention in young people. A summary of findings arising from research activity to date. London: Health Development Agency This document is a summary of the findings from four pieces of work carried out by the Health Development Agency on behalf of the Department of Health in 2003:
The findings in the first three reviews are mostly derived from 'grey literature' (evidence that does not align with traditional scientific quality control criteria but makes a valuable contribution to a topic area). The fourth is based on learning from appraisal of practice meetings conducted by the HDAwith practitioners, academics and policy makers as part of its evidence into practice activities. (Kelly et al., 2004). The decision was taken to concentrate on young people aged 11-18 and in particular those in certain 'vulnerable groups' considered to be at greater risk from drug use. A separate report in the HDA's series of Evidence Briefings, Drug use prevention: a review of reviews (Canning et al., 2004) is based on review-level evidence that meets traditional scientific quality control criteria (in this case the HDA's critical appraisal tool - see Swann et al., 2003). http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=502737 Vulnerable Young People Becker J, Roe S (2005) Drug use among vulnerable groups of young people. Findings from the 2003 crime and justice survey. Home Office Research Findings 254. London, Home Office The UK Government’s Drug Strategy includes a target of reducing the use of Class A drugs and the frequent use of any illicit drug by all young people (i.e., under 25 years of age) and, in particular, by those young people most vulnerable to problematic drug use. The Crime and Justice Survey provides the best available opportunity to examine the patterns of drug use among vulnerable groups of young people. It is a large, national survey of people aged 10 to 65 living in a representative cross-section of private households in England and Wales. The inclusion of a youth boost means that about half of this sample are aged 25 or under. It also contains more information on the background characteristics of respondents than other large-scale surveys such as the British Crime Survey or the Department of Health’s Secondary Schools Survey. This Findings focuses on the prevalence of drug use amongst several different vulnerable groups of young people identified in the Crime and Justice Survey in the 10 to 24 age range. Coomber R, Millward L, Chambers J et al. (2004a) A rapid interim review of the ‘grey’ literature on drug prevention in young people aged 11-18 with a special emphasis on vulnerable groups. London: Health Development Agency. The specific aims of this review are to: • Highlight what interventions in the grey literature suggest a real potential to prevent drug use and/or reduce drug related harm amongst young people aged 11-18 generally and of those within that age range who are member of `vulnerable' groups more particularly. http://www.publichealth.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=514766 Coomber R, Millward L, Chambers J et al. (2004b) A rapid interim review of the ‘grey’ literature on risky behaviour in young people aged 11-18 with a special emphasis on vulnerable groups. London: Health Development Agency. The specific aims of this review were to: • Highlight what interventions in the grey literature suggest real potential to prevent and/or reduce generic risky behaviour amongst young people aged 11- 18 generally and with a particular emphasis on `vulnerable' groups. • Identify gaps and inconsistencies in the evidence base and to provide a steer on future research commissioning. Criminal Justice Youth Justice Board (2004) National Specification for substance misuse for Juveniles in Custody. Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, London This document sets out the expectations of the Youth Justice Board for the delivery of substance misuse interventions to young people in custody. Borrill J, Madden A, Martin A, Weaver T, Stimson G, Farrell M & Barnes T (2003) Differential substance misuse treatment needs of women, ethnic minorities and young offenders in prison: Prevalence of substance misuse and treatment needs. Online report 33/03. Home Office. The study described in this report was developed in response to a brief to investigate the prevalence and management of substance misuse amongst sub-populations of the prison estate. The brief required a series of nested investigations to examine issues in relation to women, ethnic minorities and young offenders. The aims of the study were as follows: Hammersley R, Marsland L & Reid M (2003) Substance use by young offenders: the impact of normalisation of drug use in the early years of the 21st century.Home Office Research Series 261. Home Office Research, Development and Statistics, London Contact: richard.hammersley@gcal.ac.uk Community Based Models of care for the treatment of adult drug misusers: Update 2006. NTA This update is intended to build on the framework and concepts in Models of Care 2002 rather than replace them. It requires drug treatment commissioners and providers to have implemented the key tenets previously described in Models of Care 2002. Shaw C (2001) DPAS Briefing 7. Drugs Scene: an evaluation of a drugs prevention project in South London. London: Home Office This briefing evaluates a drugs prevetion project in South London. The project targeted 14 primary schools and nine youth projects across Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich. The study examines whether the project's integrated package of education, training and resources for the community addded value to drugs education delivered in the classroom. Smith L (2001) DPAS Briefing 9: Stimulating drugs prevention in local communities. London: Home Office This report examines models of community involvement operating within housing estates in England. Between 1996 and 1998 project monitoring took place in six drug prevention team areas covering London, the South East, Midlands and the North of England. The report focuses on five sites from those areas where, following community consultation, a number of projects were set up aiming to integrate drugs prevention within the agenda of other local initiatives. Activities undertaken included youth projects, community skills workshops, schools’ work, training parents, supporting and developing tenant associations and peer group work. The study identified a number of good practice points.
Ward J & Rhodes T (2001) DPAS Briefing 12: Drugs prevention through youth work. London: Home Office This research was carried out between October 1996 and October 1998 and examined the delivery of drugs prevention through youth intervention. It concentrated on a drug prevention programme using a structured education programme or through direct intervention with the community via street-based outreach and detached work. Available from: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk Black & Ethnic Minority Department of Health (2003) Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2002. The Stationery Office, London The Department of Health commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the National Foundation for conduct the 2002 survey of smoking, drinking and drug use among secondary school pupils in England. This is the latest in a series of surveys of secondary school children aged 11-15. Fountain J, Bashford J, Winters M & Patel K (2003) Black and minority ethnic communities in England: a review of the literature on drug use and related service provision. National Treatment Agency, London Aimed at the providers and commissioners of drug treatment services and drug action teams, this literature review makes a significant contribution to understanding the needs of Black and minority ethnic communities in relation to drugs and the processes by which agencies could respond better to the needs of diverse populations. It covers:
The review identifies three key themes which are evident in the complex relationship between ethnicity and illicit drug use: the lack of knowledge about the nature and extent of drug use amongst the UK’s Black and minority ethnic groups. Drug Prevalence Aust R, Condon J (2003) Geographical Variations in Drug Use. Home Office Statistical Bulletin15/03. |