Kootenai County Substance Abuse Council - Drug Rehab

KCSAC Mission Statement: Reduce Substance Abuse in Kootenai County Through Education and Community Partnerships

Kootenai County Substance Abuse Council
PO Box 3454
Hayden ID 83835
Tel: 208 773-2118

The Council focuses specifically on prevention, and provides support and consultation to existing programs. In addition, the Council works to fill the needs not met by existing prevention programs. The KCSAC's Executive Director serves as a liaison for the Council to other groups in the community such as the Health and Welfare Regional Substance Abuse Advisory committee, Enough is Enough, and the school districts' prevention advisory committees. By sharing information with other groups, we have been able to eliminate duplication and expand the reach of all those involved in prevention efforts.

In Kootenai County we support a variety of programs including:

D.A.R.E. Drug Abuse Resistance Education: A substance abuse prevention program designed to equip elementary school children with skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. This unique program, which was developed in 1983 in Los Angeles, uses uniformed police officers to teach a 17 week (one hour per week) curriculum to students in a classroom setting. D.A.R.E. focuses on fifth and sixth grade students to prepare them for entry into Mid or Junior High School, where they are most likely to encounter pressures to use drugs. The KCSAC does fund raising and is a promotional vehicle for the D.A.R.E. project in Kootenai County.

P.A.R.K. Prevent Alcohol Related Krashes: To help reduce injuries and deaths resulting from alcohol related crashes, the KCSAC initiated the Prevent Alcohol Related Krashes program. P.A.R.K. is working on reducing the number of drivers under the influence through many different avenues including:

* DESIGNATED DRIVER: Establishments that join this program provide non-alcoholic beverages to designated drivers.

* BREATHALYZERS: We provide local law enforcement agencies with portable breath analysis machines for use in field sobriety tests.

* EDUCATION: We work on community education programming that includes presentations at high schools, businesses and civic organizations.

* LEGISLATION: We work for improved laws regarding operating motor vehicles while using intoxicating substances.

Meth Is My Neighbor:

Formed in March of 2000 in Coeur d'Alene, Meth Is My Neighbor is a joint effort by KCSAC and the Idaho State Police Investigations Unit. Together they put together an informative brochure detailing the signs of a clandestine meth lab in neighborhoods and how to identify if someone is using methamphetamines.

In addition, the council works with Idaho State Police by setting up public classes for the Investigations Unit to put on to inform the public of the dangers of these labs. The detectives talk about the signs, symptoms, and dangers, then follow up with a Powerpoint presentation and video. They close by having a question and answer session. The class lasts approximately two hours.

We encourage all groups and organizations to contact KCSAC to set up a class for your members. All attendees receive one of the Meth Is My Neighbor brochures which has a checklist for identifying a meth lab that can be removed and sent in anonymously to any law enforcement agency, who in turn will get it to the closest Drug Task Force. The brochure is printed and distributed all over the state of Idaho and has been requested in Washington and Montana as well.