Detroit Health Department
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, by the time they are seniors, almost 70% of high school students will have tried alcohol, 50% taken an illegal drug, and almost 40% smoked cigarettes.  Adolescents who use alcohol and drugs at an early age are more likely to encounter substance abuse problems as adults.  To combat this cycle of substance abuse, the Detroit Health Department developed an adolescent substance abuse program.  As part of its commitment to improvement, Detroit wanted to evaluate how well adolescent substance abuse programs in Detroit Public Schools were performing.  We analyzed data collected among Detroit high school.  This included identifying metrics of program efficacy including likelihood to engage in risky behaviors before and after participating in the Wellness program.  The assessment profiled adolescents at greatest risk of substance abuse and identified strategies for program improvement. We identified the ways to predict which students are most likely to be at risk for substance abuse, and recommended direction to improve program outcomes to mitigate adolescent substance.