SENATE RESOLUTION

                             8789

By Senator Hargrove

     WHEREAS, The state of Washington is committed to providing safe communities where healthy families can live and grow; and

     WHEREAS, Communities need access to resources to provide opportunities to children and families to gain new skills to successfully participate in their family, in school, and in their community, and to receive encouragement to reach their full potential; and

     WHEREAS, Research provides compelling evidence that abuse of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs is limiting the potential for many of our youth in communities across the state; and

     WHEREAS, Research has identified certain risk factors in the children's community, at school, and at home that demonstrate a likelihood that some children may develop a variety of problem behaviors, such as substance abuse, delinquency, school drop out, violence, and teen pregnancy; and

     WHEREAS, Research has also identified factors that can protect and provide a buffer to children exposed to multiple risks, and can therefore decrease the likelihood that problem behaviors will develop; and

     WHEREAS, Research continues to identify prevention programs and approaches, tested in multiple environments of community, family, and in the school, shown to work to prevent substance abuse and other youth problem behaviors;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate honors those state agencies involved in substance abuse prevention that work collaboratively on the eighteen overarching state alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention objectives and corresponding targeted benchmarks identified in Washington State Substance Abuse Prevention System (March 2001); and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize those communities that work collaboratively to combine resources and demonstrate success in the provision of evidence-based prevention programs proven to work with youth and their families to prevent substance abuse and other problem behaviors including substance abuse, violence, delinquency, and school drop out; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to state agencies involved in substance abuse prevention.

I, Tony M. Cook, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 8789,

adopted by the Senate March 13, 2002.

TONY M. COOK

Secretary of the Senate