In the Spring of 1995, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services authorized the establishment of the Departmental Working Group on Hispanic Issues. Part of the Hispanic Agenda for Action calls for an increase in the Department's capacity to reach out to the growing Hispanic/Latino customer population. The Agenda also calls for a process for communicating with Hispanic/Latino customers using culturally and language appropriate techniques.

In answer to the call for action, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (SAMHSA/CSAP) established the Hispanic/Latino Steering Committee to recommend and guide SAMHSA's initiative. The Steering Committee members represent a diverse spectrum of the Hispanic/Latino community and have expertise in working with Hispanic/Latino families and children in the areas of substance abuse prevention/treatment and mental health.

Hispanic/Latino Americans comprise 30,480,900 people, representing 11 percent of the total U.S. population. Of this number, 34.4 percent are under the age of 18 years old, and the median age for Hispanic/Latino Americans is 26 years old. In the United States, Hispanic/Latinos suffer from disproportionately higher rates of alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, and marijuana use than other ethnic groups. As such, there is an obvious and immediate need to employ culturally appropriate prevention strategies to eradicate these exceedingly high rates.

The lack of materials focusing on substance use prevention among Hispanic/Latino population was documented through an in-depth review of literature materials and confirmed by the results of a rapid assessment survey conducted with information specialists, community gatekeepers, and members of CSAP's Regional Alcohol and Drug Awareness Resource (RADAR) Network Centers. The field response indicates that existing SAMHSA/CSAP materials for Hispanic/Latinos are outdated with regard to content and cultural appropriateness. Currently, Hispanic/Latino audiences cannot access core prevention materials such as SAMHSA/CSAP's "Keeping Youth Drug Free" and "Turning Awareness into Action" because neither booklet is tailored to their specific information needs.

As such, SAMHSA/CSAP identified the information gaps within existing prevention resources and has adapted the two SAMHSA/CSAP booklets as well as developed two posters and an activity book for children. The materials were developed on the basis of formative research, as well as adapted from CSAP's existing public education efforts. The adaptation of "Keeping Youth Drug Free" complements the ONDCP National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign materials in enhancing parents' perception that they have the power to prevent adolescent drug use. The adaptation of "Turning Awareness into Action" complements the ONDCP National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign and the Secretary's Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative (YSAPI) in encouraging community-focused actions. Taken together all of these materials also support the Hispanic phase of the Positive Activities Campaign, whose objective is to increase the proportion of parents and caregivers involved in positive skill-building activities with youth. None of these products stands alone. Rather, they are intended to be used by parents and other caring adults with their children.