A 38-page annual “Community Youth Needs Assessment” provided by the Falls Church City Public Schools and its Alliance For Youth was summarized and presented to the F.C. City Council tonight by Earl Conklin, the City’s director of court services.
While the report concludes that there are significantly more “protective” than “risk” factors for the City’s teens, it did point out high rates of substance and alcohol abuse among 11th and 12th graders in the school system and a wide disparity between surverys of use among the youth and awareness of youth abuse by parents. Conklin said that a third of the students report regular drug use, and two thirds report require alcohol use, while parents surveyed indicated that they believe only eight percent of students abuse drugs and 15 percent abuse alcohol.
