The task force had 39 members from the community, business, and government. It concluded that the county has a severe substance abuse problem, with alcohol the substance most commonly abused. The problem affects people from all social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. A household survey conducted in the spring of 1989 revealed community concern about drug use and selling and strong support for more school health and drug educators and more prevention programs. The task force recommends that prevention efforts focus on families with preschool and school-age children and communities with a high incidence of drug-related crime. It recommends more than 100 action steps based on the goals of community empowerment, outreach and direct service programming, public education and awareness, strengthened treatment and enforcement as prevention tools, monitoring and evaluation of prevention efforts, and efforts to seek creative funding for prevention efforts. Figures and appended survey details, background information, and lists of information sources.