According to the 2007 Uniform Crime Report, Black Hawk County has two times the state rate of juvenile drug/narcotics violations (444.6 per 100,000 compared to Iowa's 210.4 per 100,000).
 
The Iowa Youth Survey is a survey given every three years to 6th, 8th and 11th graders throughout Iowa and gauges at risk attitudes and behaviors. 1,241 11th graders in Black Hawk County participated in the 2005 Iowa Youth Survey. The survey questioned substance usage in the prior 30 days. Data indicates that 42% (521 students) of 11th graders surveyed in Black Hawk County had used alcohol in the month prior to taking the survey. 18% (223 students) had used marijuana. 2% (25 students) had used methamphetamine.
 
Helping combat this substance abuse is the On-Site Adolescent Treatment Program operated by Pathways' Behavioral Services, a program your Cedar Valley United Way contributions help fund.
 
Participants are adolescents age 12-18 in Black Hawk County experiencing problems with alcohol and drugs. Each individual referred is screened to determine treatment needs. Last fiscal year, Pathways' On-Site Adolescent Counselor screened almost 170 potential clients. Of the 170, 25% were referred to a substance abuse prevention program where they were educated about the risks of substance use and abuse. 75 % (130 student/clients) of those screened needed treatment based on the amount/frequency of substances and/or type of substances being used. The top substances of choice were marijuana (#1), alcohol (#2), methamphetamine (#3), and prescription drugs (#4).
 
Adolescents are referred to the program through schools, Juvenile Court Services, the Department of Human Services, churches, other youth serving organizations, self-referred, or through family members. Families are encouraged to participate in treatment, and many families to do play an active role.
 
The help these students receive can change their lives. Here is the story from the Pathways' staff of one student:
 
We currently have a student who was abusing several substances but has been sober for some time now. He has been working on generating his own happiness and not relying on others approval. When he began treatment he was unsure of his future but through working on finding his own happiness has decided to go to college and has even begun the necessary steps toward this goal.