The Partnership at Drugfree.org announced the launch of new tools for Hispanic parents and families, accessible at “HablaConTusHijos,” a free, bilingual online resource to help Hispanic parents who are struggling to address drug and alcohol abuse by their children.

Recognizing the urgent need within the Latino community for these kinds of comprehensive tools, The Partnership at Drugfree.org created “HablaConTusHijos” to provide effective, yet easy-to-use, resources equipping Hispanic parents and grandparents to take action in preventing teen substance abuse. This new web resource was made possible with major support from MetLife Foundation.

The website features practical advice from experts and other parents, including the “Six Components of Effective Parenting,” (Seis Practicas De Crianza) a tool developed as part of the Parents Translational Research Center – a joint venture of The Partnership at Drugfree.org and the Treatment Research Institute, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

New research from the latest Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), a nationally projectable study that tracks drug and alcohol use among youth, shows that Hispanic teens are using drugs at alarmingly higher levels when compared to teens from other ethnic groups. According to the most current PATS research data:

*When compared to other ethnic groups, more than half of Hispanic teens (54 percent) reported having used an illicit drug in the past year, versus 42 percent of African-American teens and 39 percent for Caucasian teens.

*Also, 23 percent of Hispanic teens report having ever abused a prescription medicine at least once, compared to 16 percent for Caucasian teens and 11 percent for African-American teens.

*Half of Hispanic teens (50 percent) reported they have used marijuana in the past year versus 40 percent for African-American teens and 35 percent for Caucasian teens.