Educators in attendance hailed from Pendleton, Grant, Hardy, Hampshire, Mineral, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties.

RESA VIII Executive Director, Jane Lynch, stated, "This program is implemented in the grades where students are most influenced with peer pressure. The LifeSkills program is the only curriculum currently being implemented across the entire state in the field of prevention."

According to a new Australian study, teens who start drinking before age 15 could jump-start any genetic conditions they might have that predispose them to developing alcohol dependency.

The findings, published online on September 18th and in the December print issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, are based on a study of 6,257 adult twins. The study found tht people were more likely to develop symptoms of alcohol dependency the earlier the age they had their first drink - especially if that drink occurred before age 15. Early drinkers also tended to have an increased genetic vulnerability to alcohol.

The Jackson County Tobacco Education Committee (JCTEC) in Altus, Oklahoma, had donated the Botvin LifeSkills Training Curriculum to the Altus Intermediate School and all five elementary schools.

"We are happy to provide this curriculum to Altus Public Schools, in hopes of reducing tobacco use in youth," stated JCTEC Chair, Wendell Browne. "Our committee goal is to educate youth about the insidious nature of the tobacco industry and arm them with the skills to say NO to tobacco use."

Botvin LifeSkills Training delivered an illuminating workshop at the National Prevention Network conference on "Research to Practice: Prevention Science and Evidence-based Practices" held in Anaheim, CA, from September 15-18, 2009.

The workshop, titled "Process Evaluation Results from the Implementation of a Workplace Wellness Program for Young Adults," addressed how substance use negatively affects the workplace.

Botvin LifeSkills Training delivered an intensive training workshop on the LifeSkills Training High School program at the 3rd Annual Georgia School of Addiction Studies (GSAS): "Keys to Change: Prevention, Treatment & Recovery" conference held in Savannah, Georgia, from August 31 through September 4, 2009.

The day-long workshop, titled, "LifeSkills Training: Delivering Prevention to Older Adolescents and Young Adults in School and Community Settings," was presented to Savannah-area prevention, treatment, and juvenile justice providers. The training incorporated hands-on, interactive learning activities that explored effective prevention education for older adolescents in the classroom, treatment, or juvenile justice setting.

Those participants who successfully completed the workshop were certified to deliver the Botvin LifeSkillsTraining High School program.