National Families in Action was a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that was founded in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in 1977. Its mission is to help children succeed by empowering parents to create an academic and social environment where children thrive and are protected from

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

and other high-risk behaviors. In November 2021, marking 45 years, the organization announced it would cease operations in January 2022.

History

The organization obtained the nation's first state laws banning the sale of

drug paraphernalia "Drug paraphernalia" is a term to denote any equipment, product or accessory that is intended or modified for making, using or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes. Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamin ...

. It helped lead a national effort to help parents replicate Georgia's laws in other states to prevent the marketing of

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

s and drug use to children. Along with the Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education (PRIDE) and the National Federation of Parents for Drug-Free Youth, it helped parents form parent

drug prevention Substance abuse prevention, also known as drug abuse prevention, is a process that attempts to prevent the onset of substance use or limit the development of problems associated with using psychoactive substances. Prevention efforts may focus on ...

groups to protect children's health. Federal officials credit the parent movement with the two-thirds reduction in past-month drug use among adolescents (ages 12–17) and young adults (ages 18–25) that occurred between 1979, when drug use among these age groups peaked, and 1992, when their drug use fell to the lowest levels since national surveys began. During the 1980s, Sue Rusche, the organization's director, wrote a twice-weekly column on drug abuse that was syndicated by

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial c ...

to some 100 newspapers across the nation. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, National Families in Action published ''Drug Abuse Update'', a quarterly publication that highlighted scientific research about

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, and other drugs, their impact on the brain and body, and the work done by all segments of society to reduce drug use, abuse,

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

, and other high-risk behaviors. With demonstration grants from the

Center for Substance Abuse Prevention The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; pronounced ) is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative service ...

in the 1990s, the organization worked with families in inner-city Atlanta

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

communities to help parents protect their children from the

crack epidemic The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Ameri ...

and to help parents and teachers conduct Club HERO, an after-school program, for sixth-grade students at a large, inner-city middle school. National Families in Action co-founded the Addiction Studies Program for Journalists with

Wake Forest University School of Medicine Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the medical school of Wake Forest University, with two campuses located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with Atrium Health Wake Forest ...

in 1999. This effort is funded by the

National Institute on Drug Abuse The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a United States federal government research institute whose mission is to "advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual a ...

, as is the Addiction Studies Program for the States, which began in 2005. The Treatment Research Institute and the

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

became two additional partners for the states program. Both programs seek to provide a basic understanding of the science that underlies drug abuse and addiction to help journalists write more scientifically accurate stories about drugs and to help

lawmaker A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

s and

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

administrators implement more effective drug policies in their states. To further educate the public about the impact of addictive drugs on the brain and behavior, the program's directors wrote ''False Messengers: How Addictive Drugs Change the Brain.'' In 2003, with a $4.2 million grant from Congress and the

Corporation for National and Community Service AmeriCorps (officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work prog ...

, National Families in Action created the Parent Corps via a pilot program conducted in 19 schools in nine states. The program received a no-cost extension to operate for a fourth year through 2007. Principals report that with Parent Corps in their schools, positive communications with parents doubled, student attendance and grades increased, and student discipline problems and drop-out rates decreased. U.S. Representative John Lewis introduced the National Parents Corps Act in the

111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...

. The bill would make the Parent Corps a permanent institution in the effort to protect adolescents from high-risk behaviors that endanger their health, safety, and well-being. In 2010, National Families in Action launched But What about the Children, a

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

campaign to educate citizens about 12 provisions that must be contained in any law that legalizes

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

to ensure that, if legalized, marijuana will not be marketed or sold to anyone under age 21. In 2014, Marijuana Studies Program, a project of National Families in Action and its partners, introduced The Marijuana Report.Org that links browsers to daily news coverage of the marijuana issue. A one-page e-newsletter highlights key issues for subscribers every week.

References

External links

National Families in Action Website

Addiction Studies Program Website

But What about the Children Website

The Marijuana Report.Org
{{Authority control Addiction organizations in the United States Mental health organizations based in Georgia (U.S. state)