J. Robert Flores, Administrator of OJJDP, and Mary Ann Solberg, Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, talk with community antidrug coalition representatives after the CADCA Town Hall Meeting on Youth Substance Abuse.

On February 12, 2003, OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores convened a town hall meeting on youth substance abuse as part of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s (CADCA’s) National Leadership Forum XIII. He was joined by Mary Ann Solberg, Deputy Director, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (OJJDP’s partner in administering the Drug-Free Communities Support Program), and by Richard R. Nedelkoff, Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and Wade F. Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mr. Flores welcomed more than 100 CADCA Forum participants to the town hall meeting, which he described as an important opportunity for dialog about the issues that concern members of community antidrug coalitions. The panelists then highlighted programs funded or sponsored by their agencies to combat substance abuse by youth. They encouraged community coalition members to inform them of needs and successes at the local level and stressed the importance of hard data from the field to support federal policy and funding decisions and to ensure that future programs can benefit from proven models.

Preeti Puri and Kim Norris, OJJDP Program Managers, organized the Town Hall Meeting on Youth Substance Abuse.

After the speakers finished their remarks, they responded to written questions from the audience and then opened the floor to comments. A lively discussion between federal and community leaders ensued. Several members of the audience expressed their appreciation to the panelists for listening and for supporting community-based efforts to combat substance abuse by youth. When the town hall meeting adjourned, many participants approached the panelists for informal conversations.

Questions and answers from the meeting will be posted on the Web sites of the participating agencies. See “Selected Web Resources”.

Selected Web Resources The following Web sites offer information on funding opportunities and other resources to help communities combat substance abuse by youth: Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA): cadca.org. Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program, Bureau of Justice Assistance: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/drugcourts.html. Drug-Free Communities Support Program, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp (click on “Drug-Free Communities Support Program” in the “Get Information” box). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families: www.acf.hhs.gov. White House Office of National Drug Control Policy: whitehousedrugpolicy.gov.

OJJDP News @ a Glance	March/April 2003 Volume II Number 2