Before you link to A Parents’ Guide to Substance Abuse Prevention,
please take a moment to read this information:
Circle of Concern Consortium, a Colorado not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, was formed in January, 2001, to promote education and networking among parents, educators, and community members regarding pertinent child development issues, especially substance abuse. The Consortium held monthly meetings during the school year in the Denver metro area through Spring, 2010.
The first edition of A Parents’ Guide to Substance Abuse Prevention was published in 1996 by the forerunner to Circle of Concern Consortium, a group of community volunteers consisting of parents, counselors, and educators from independent and parochial schools in and around Denver. Circle of Concern Consortium has updated, rewritten, and published the Guide continuously since that time. In 2005 a Spanish translation of the 2004 English edition (a less inclusive version than the one posted here) was published.
The Final Edition of A Parents’ Guide to Substance Abuse Prevention, posted to this site in September, 2010, is written in a format which is easy to read and reference. It contains practical information to help parents with the difficult challenges presented by children’s use of alcohol and other drugs and other risky behaviors. It has in-depth information about specific drugs and their consequences and about communication and parenting strategies. Topics such as the teen brain and the Internet are addressed. Information is included for parents of elementary, middle, and high school students, and for parents of students moving on to college or making other choices. Reflection questions for parents regarding their own beliefs and values and the messages they give their children about alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and other risky behaviors are also presented. Contents of the Guide have been extensively researched through books, articles, websites, and government publications; health care and mental health professionals; legal and law enforcement agencies; and parents, teachers, and students. Current resource and website information is provided.
This Guide is for parents AND for the benefit of children. Its goal is to help parents enable children to make good decisions about the use of substances and about other risky behaviors. We at Circle of Concern Consortium understand that parents have the greatest influence on their children and that effective substance abuse prevention programs must include parental involvement. We know that substance abuse prevention requires being informed and showing your children that you care about their health, safety, and well-being.
Circle of Concern Consortium values the opportunity it has had to distribute nearly 100,000 copies of A Parents’ Guide to Substance Abuse Prevention. We now look forward to sharing the Guide with even more readers by making it available at no charge on the Internet. While we have been nudged in this direction by increased printing and distribution costs and simultaneous reductions in discretionary funds available to schools and others who have historically purchased our Guides, we have long considered our options for expanded Guide use. Circle of Concern Consortium’s officers, directors and authors are very proud of the Guide they have created and realize that its value can only be realized when it reaches the people for whom it was written: parents and those who work with them to better educate, support, and help youth.
A Parents’ Guide to Substance Abuse Prevention, although copyrighted by Circle of Concern Consortium, is presented in a PDF format for your ease in reading and/or printing it. We recommend that you share its contents with others by referring them to this website, by using excerpts from it for newsletters or other informational conduits for parents and others, by translating it into whatever languages may be of benefit, or by using it as the basis for creating a guide of your own. We would appreciate being credited as the source of the information you use from our Guide in your publications and would also appreciate receiving copies of publications you might generate based on our Guide.
It is our hope that you will pass our Guide along to others as we have to you,
without seeking monetary rewards for it.
Circle of Concern Consortium has ceased normal operations, will not hold future meetings, and anticipates dissolving its corporate existence by the end of 2010. Any questions regarding CCC or A Parents’ Guide to Substance Abuse Prevention may be addressed to Circle of Concern Consortium at 10328 East Fair Place, Englewood, CO 80111-5418, or at .
