Review by Choice Review
Truly a "handbook" emphasizing prevention, this book also provides strategies for working with children for whom prevention efforts have been unsuccessful. Callison, Colocino, and Vasquez have drawn on their own experiences in drug abuse prevention education to create a summary of numerous strategies for assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation. They exemplify points by describing successful programs nationwide. The consistent emphases on identification of "at-risk" students and on development of programs that integrate schools, communities, and families into prevention efforts are particular strengths. Classroom teachers, building administrators, and school nurses will appreciate the suggestions for dealing with cocaine-exposed children in the classroom. Unfortunately, the writing is often uneven, especially in the early chapters. In some chapters, introductory summaries are needed to place content into a meaningful context. The literature review is skimpy, providing the reader with only an overview. Finally, policy recommendations seem both obvious and repetitive. Still, the book has much to offer; it provides a basis for brainstorming, discussion, and planning as well as concrete suggestions that can be adapted for use in diverse environments. Recommended for libraries serving educators, health care providers, substance abuse workers, and community planners. Upper-division undergraduate; professional. T. D. Delapp; University of Alaska, Anchorage
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review