The Key Development Center of Brighton and Howell, Michigan, has developed PEP Talk, or Parent Education for Prevention, a program designed to educate adults about the role they play in preventing youth substance use, the Ann Arbor News reported on February 10.

The Center, a nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment and prevention agency, created the program with the help of a grant from the Brighton Area Schools Educational (BASE) Foundation.

PEP Talk is a visual display exhibit available to any school or organization in Livingston County, Michigan, wishing to inform parents about preventing substance use among children of all ages.

"We want to give parents information about how they can affect their kids' choices," said Kris Nelson of the Key Development Center, a social worker, youth prevention specialist and trustee for the BASE Foundation. "It's important that they have open communication with their kids and be involved in their lives."

As indicated by a 2001 survey, Livingston County youth are especially at risk for drug and alcohol use because of higher than average levels of stress, boredom and wealth, according to Nelson.

"PEP Talk will benefit the whole county," she said.