What is the Parent Corps?

The Parent Corps is a new, national effort dedicated to helping parents prevent their children from using alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. Modeled on the same principles as the Peace Corps, it harnesses the power of parents working together to keep their children drug free. The Parent Corps recruits, trains, certifies, and pays full-time salaries to Parent Leaders for two years of service. It institutionalizes the parent movement of the late 1970s into the early 1990s. That movement proved it could change social norms and get results, cutting past-month drug use by two-thirds among adolescents and young adults.

Unfortunately, the movement dissipated and drug use rose again to alarming levels.

The Monitoring the Future Survey shows that by 8th grade:

• 46 percent of children have used alcohol
• 28 percent have smoked cigarettes
• 23 percent have used illegal drugs

And by 12th grade:

• 77 percent have used alcohol
• 54 percent have smoked cigarettes
• 51 percent have used illegal drugs

Working in their children’s schools, Parent Leaders provide parents with science-based drug prevention education, hands-on tools, and a peer network that supports parents in their mission to keep their children healthy and drug free. They form parent groups to support each other as they take action.

What makes the Parent Corps unique?

Drug prevention programs have been around for a long time. Some are aimed at parents, most are aimed at children. Nearly all provide short-term courses on the dangers of drugs and ways to avoid use.

The Parent Corps is an ongoing process that offers parents a strong peer support network grounded by a full-time, paid Parent Leader. Like the neighborhood of yesterday, where everyone looked after every child on the street, Parent Leaders alert parents to the marketing machine behind drugs and help them immunize children against it. The vision is to have one full-time Parent Leader in every school in the country by 2014.

What do Parent Leaders do?

• contact all parents in the school
• educate them about how drugs affect children
• teach them about how children are at risk
• persuade them to believe research showing that they are the most powerful influences in their children’s lives
• mobilize them into groups that stop the marketing of drugs to children
• create a support network that fosters the growth of healthy children capable of reaching their full potential

Why do we need a Parent Corps?

Until recently, it was thought that the most intense period of brain development occurs between birth and four years of age. New research shows that the brain undergoes a second intense period of development during adolescence. This puts teens at special risk if drug use occurs during adolescence.

Drug use can impair adolescents’ academic, emotional, and social development. It can lead to addiction, unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, mental illness, accidents, and suicides.

It is not inevitable that children will experiment with drugs. Parents can keep them drug free. The Parent Corps shows them how.

Who operates the Parent Corps?

National Families in Action, which conceived and developed the Parent Corps, operates the Parent Corps from its national office in Atlanta, Georgia. The organization employs and manages all Parent Corps personnel in collaboration with 9 State Partners:

• National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse (CA)
• Partnership for a Drug-Free Colorado
• Connecticut Communities for Drug-Free Youth
• Georgia Council on Substance Abuse
• Kansas Family Partnership
• Illinois Education Alliance
• Wilson Families in Action (NC)
• Greenville Family Partnership (SC)
• Wisconsin Families in Action

How is the Parent Corps funded?

The Parent Corps is funded by initial seed money from Congress to begin in these 9 states via a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. The Corporation also awarded a contract to RTI International to evaluate the effectiveness of the Parent Corps. Additional funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse financed research planning. A grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration supported the development of the Parent Corps Basic Training for Parent Leaders.

How will the Parent Corps grow?

National Families in Action will continue to work with Congress to expand funding for the Parent Corps. It is also raising funds from foundations and individuals and building corporate partnerships to help the Parent Corps achieve its vision.

Can I be trained as a volunteer Parent Leader now?

Yes. National Families in Action will train and certify parents who wish to serve as volunteer Parent Leaders. These 5-day trainings are held in Atlanta and cost $350 per day plus transportation to Atlanta, lodging, and meals.

See Parent Corps Training to learn more about the training or to register.