ABOUT THIS
PROGRAM...

The U. S. Department of Labor "America in Jeopardy: The Young Employee and Drugs in the Workplace" is a training program that was developed for young workers, ages 16-24. This training program was designed to be presented in a one- or two-hour format, as shown below. However, when time permits, you may wish to include discussions of other aspects of substance abuse that cannot be covered by this one-hour program. Topics such as intervention, the role of the employee assistance program (EAP), Twelve Step Programs (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous, AlAnon, etc.), and enabling are but a few areas that may be covered in a more comprehensive drug abuse training program.

When you begin the class, you should tell participants the length of the training program and that the material will be presented in the following order:

Trainer's
Guidance

The Trainer's Guide was developed to assist you to facilitate discussions and answer questions that may arise during the course of this training. Throughout the Trainer's Guide, you will find pertinent information for the trainer in bold print. There are also references to the corresponding pages in the Participant's Manual. These references are found at the bottom of the page.

The role of the trainer is important to the success of an interactive training program such as the one you are presenting. As you know, substance abuse in the workplace has become a significant factor in the assessment of safety and health in the workplace, as well as worker productivity and costs. During this training session, you should try to raise the awareness of participants to the impact of substance abuse in the workplace.

The following information will give you some guidelines for preparation and presentation of your alcohol and drug abuse training.

Prior to the Training Session:

1. Order enough Participant's Manuals for all attendees. Read the Participant's Manual and the Trainer's Guide to familiarize yourself with the format and content of the substance abuse training before the scheduled training session.
   
   
2. If you are not sufficiently knowledgeable about the material or would like additional information, consult other resources. Several are listed at the end of this trainer's Guide. For information on some 50 substances of abuse, you may also wish to consult the "Substance Abuse Data Sheets" and the "Drug Category Profiles" in the U.S. Department of Labor Workplace Alcohol and Drug Abuse Training Program, Trainer's Guide and Participant's Manual. This program is available through the same distribution source as the program you are using. While the Workplace Alcohol and Drug Abuse Training Program was not developed for use with a target age audience, it is thematically similar to the program you are using today for young workers and may be used as a companion and information source for your training.
   
   
3. Since this program is targeted to youth in the work force, make sure that registered participants fall within the ages of 16-24 year old.
   
   
4. Be sure to have a VHS player and monitor available for the videotape part of the program. A flip chart should also be available.
   
   
5. Secure a room large enough to accommodate your class comfortably. Try to limit class size to 30 or less to facilitate interactive discussions.

Program Presentation:

This training program is designed to encourage interaction between the trainer and the participants. You can facilitate this by helping them to verbalize their feelings about the impact of substance abuse in the workplace. The following format should be effective in achieving this objective:

1. Introduce yourself and welcome participants. Hand out Participant's Manuals.
   
   
2. Introduce the topic and briefly discuss the reason your agency is providing this substance abuse training.
   
   
3. Briefly restate the program objectives, i.e., to inform and educate young workers about the health, safety and career hazards of alcohol and substance abuse in the workplace. Refer to the program objectives, listed on page 2.
   
   
4. Discuss the schedule for the training session. Determine ahead of time whether the program is to be presented in the one or two hour format, based upon the amount of time that has been allocated to the workers for this training.
   
   
5. Since this program offers many opportunities for interactive discussions with the participants, you should decide ahead of time whether you will discuss specific drugs at length or encourage discussion of personal experiences. If either choice is made, be prepared with appropriate material.
   
   
6. Try to answer any questions the participants may have. If you do not know an answer, tell them and offer to provide an answer later.
   
   
7. Tell participants the program will be presented in the following four segments:
   
   

   a. Test Your Drug IQ,
   

   b. Videotape presentation and discussion,
   

   c. Interactive discussion activity focusing on the affects of workplace substance abuse,
   

   d. True/False questions on multiple drug use.
   
   

8. Review the instructions provided for each training segment.

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