Counselors

Providing early intervention has been shown to reduce the number of youth who experiment with drugs as they grow older. For those who are already experiencing substance abuse problems it is important to get them treatment as soon as possible. Often teachers and staff are not prepared to deal with these issues along with their other responsibilities. UNITE substance abuse counselors are dedicated to providing intervention services.

During the 2009-10 school year UNITE funded 11 substance abuse counselors to serve schools in 14 counties. UNITE will fund an additional five counselors for the 2010-11 term. Counselors are hired by and are employees of local school districts.

Counselors provide assistance to students, individually or in group settings, to assist them in overcoming dependencies or deal with substance abuse or related problems. They also seek to identify students who are exhibiting behaviors associated with beginning substance abuse.

During the 2009-10 school year these counselors:

• Conducted 2,350 individual counseling sessions
• Conducted 169 group counseling sessions
• Provided 37 referrals for students to receive treatment

In addition, counselors conduct or assist in substance abuse prevention/education activities. This past year each counselor was given $5,000 to purchase drug-prevention curriculum or materials for their schools.

2009-10 substance abuse counselors