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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		Drug Strategies Press Conference:  Releasing "Keeping Score 1998", Washington, D.C.
DATE:		December 11, 1998

Keeping the Spotlight Focused on Substance Abuse

There's an old proverb that says you can never solve a problem by ignoring it. And that's why "Keeping Score 1998" is so important. It's helping to keep the national spotlight focused on the problem of substance abuse and its damaging effects on our families, communities and society.

The report also illuminates the fact that-when it comes to substance abuse-women and girls have very special needs. Earlier this year, when I went to New York City to participate in "Principal for a Day," I asked a room full of school children what it would take to protect them from tobacco and drugs. A young girl stood up and said, "Make me stronger inside." If we want girls to resist the allure of illegal drugs, tobacco and alcohol, girls need us to make them stronger.

That's why my Department is continuing to champion our Girl Power Campaign. As you know, Girl Power is a multi-phase, multi-media campaign designed to help 9-14 year old girls make the most of their lives. And I'm extremely proud that the report praises its effectiveness, and singles it out as a model program. The goal of Girl Power is to reinforce positive values. In other words, we're not just giving girls something to say "NO" to-we're giving them something to say "YES" to: Yes to physical activity; yes to education; yes to setting goals and meeting aspirations. But government will never be able to do this alone.

We all need to work together to give our young women strength; to give them resilience; to give them Girl Power.

And that's the second thing the "Keeping Score 1998" report illuminates: We must all do more to combat drug use among every segment of our society-and we need to begin the fight as early as possible. We know that parents are the single most important factor in protecting children from trying drugs. We need parents to sit down with their children-early and often-and tell them that drugs attack the body, assault the mind, and assail the spirit.That drugs are not the stuff of dreams, but the stuff of nightmares.And that when you buy drugs, you're mortgaging your hopes and dreams. But we also need communities and churches, teachers, coaches, groups like Drug Strategies, and every single person who cares about young people to join hands to protect our children.

Of course, as this report shows, we need the same caring individuals to offer a helping hand to the many adult women who are also struggling with drug and alcohol dependency. And we must work to find innovative and effective prevention and treatment programs for these women and their families in all of our communities.

If we want to stem the tide of substance abuse in this country, we must all pit our wits and wills and wallets to the battle. We must keep a steady drum beat of anti-drug messages echoing from every corner of society. And we must ensure that we have more efforts like "Keeping Score 1998" to keep the national spotlight focused on the problem of substance abuse.

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