With Help from a National Organization, Volunteers Drive the Work of 4,000 Anti-Drug Coalitions Across the Nation

This report covers results from 1992 through December 2003, during which time the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) provided support for CADCA's core activities.

• In the 16 years that followed its inception in 1992, CADCA's membership base grew to more than 6,300, including more than 5,250 community coalitions.
• CADCA's annual National Leadership Forum, supported by more than 15 federal agencies and corporate sponsors brings together up to 1,500 community anti-drug coalition leaders to share successes and discuss common problems.
  • Experts in the fields of substance abuse, treatment and research have made extensive presentations.
  • Speakers have included former President Bill Clinton and numerous members of Congress.
• CADCA also holds Mid-Year Training Institutes, which grew in size by an average of 100 people a year from 2001 to 2003.
• Project staff has produced a range of reports, articles, newsletters, satellite broadcasts, and videos.
• CADCA's website provides links to member coalitions and resources for building and sustaining community coalitions, including real-time training and technical assistance sessions.
• In May 2001, a CADCA coalition meeting in Fairfax, Va., was the venue at which President George W. Bush announced his national drug control strategy.
• Under the reauthorization of the Drug-Free Communities Act Support Program, CADCA was awarded a grant to run the National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute. The 2004 funding for the overall program was $70 million.

In 1999, an RWJF-funded independent assessment recommended that CADCA should:

• Clarify and add precision to its strategic plan.
• Diversify its approaches to technical assistance to coalitions.