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History of C.A.R.E.
The Crawford Abuse Resistance Effort (C.A.R.E.) began in the spring of 1989 as a partnership of school, law enforcement and human services agencies. Initially, CESA #3 acted as the group organizer, seeing a need for collaborative efforts to address alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse (ATODA) prevention in Crawford County. C.A.R.E. board members meet monthly to share their thoughts, concerns and projects relating to ATODA prevention. C.A.R.E. quickly expanded to include concerned parents, clergy, business representatives and youth.
To enhance the coalition's efforts, Wisconsin Coulee Region Community Action Program wrote and received an Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP) grant on behalf of CARE. This grant allowed C.A.P. to add a full-time staff person to provide staff assistance to C.A.R.E.
When OSAP (now CSAP) funding ended in May 1999, Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital made a commitment to provide cash and in-kind funds to sustain C.A.R.E. staff. Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital provides two full-time staff persons to C.A.R.E., with partial salaries and program support from a Drug Free Community Support Program (grant # SP11351).
A part-time staff person is provided by Crawford County Public Health with funding through the Wisconsin Tobacco Control Board. This person works collaboratively with all coalition members to develop a comprehensive approach to tobacco prevention in Crawford County.
Each partner agency allocates staff time for ATODA prevention efforts. For example, each school district provides a faculty advisor to their school's youth leadership group and local law enforcement agencies provide officers for compliance checks. Other time committments include attending coalition meetings or collaborating on projects.
The mission of C.A.R.E. is to coordinate, train, and share information and resources among schools, government, community agencies and organizations, law enforcement, businesses, religious affiliations, youth, parents, and concerned individuals for the prevention of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse (ATODA) in Crawford County.
The goal of C.A.R.E is to reduce and/or the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs among Crawford County youth and adults using comprehensive prevention and health promotion strategies.
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