An Ounce of Prevention

An Ounce of Prevention - Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplaces

As prevention professionals, you are aware that a good workplace policy can help prevent substance abuse problems in the workplace. But what constitutes a good policy? Should your organization require drug testing? Have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)? Conduct supervisor training?

In addition, "The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires some Federal contractors and all Federal grantees to agree that they will provide drug-free workplaces as a condition of receiving a contract or grant from a Federal agency." (http://www.dol.gov/elaws/asp/drugfree/howto.htm) How do you know if your organization falls under the act?

Luckily, there is help for you, your organization and the other organizations with which you work or provide services. The Department of Labor Working Partners website (http://www.dol.gov/workingpartners provides a wonderful resource in the area of policy and program development to create Drug-Free Workplaces. At this site are interactive tools to create a customized Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace Policy, supervisor training materials, and employee education materials as well as information on employee assistance programs (EAPs) and drug-testing, to help you decide if these are components of a Drug-Free Workplace that are appropriate for your organization.

I used the policy development section of the Program Builder to create our policy for the Prevention Think Tank. It was easy to customize the policy to fit our needs and situation. The site navigation is also "user friendly". I hope you will take advantage of this excellent resource.

Yours in prevention,

Barbara Jacobi

Board of Directors
The Prevention Think Tank, Inc.