D.A.R.E. Officer Training (DOT)
The D.A.R.E. Officer Training Program is an intensive two week (80+ hrs.) residential training course that equips the entry level police officer with the skills and knowledge to present the D.A.R.E. curriculum to school-aged children. The training focuses on developing communication skills, facilitation, teaching methodology, classroom management, educational concepts, adolescent development, lesson preparation and effective demonstration of the curriculum.
Additionally, this lengthy and difficult training event requires that the officer is truly committed to helping children live safe and healthy lives. That commitment is the catalyst that helps carry most officers through. Ask any one of them about the difficulty and they consistently reply, "it was one of the most difficult trainings of my police career." The training course is mandated by D.A.R.E. America and administered by the Maryland D.A.R.E. Training Center. The Training Center is housed at the Maryland Community Policing Institute of the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions (M.P.C.T.C.) .
This 80+ hrs. training is required by both D.A.R.E. America and M.P.C.T.C. for certification of all new D.A.R.E. Instructors, and provides successful graduates with authorization to deliver copyrighted D.A.R.E. curricula for elementary, middle school and high school programs, parent and community programs, as well as several enhancement lessons on such topics as Opioids, More Than Sad (teen suicide), Vaping, Bullying, Gangs, and Internet Safety. The focus of the training is to provide instructors with the skills necessary for successful classroom instruction and student learning. The course also provides instructional blocks for School Resource Officers and school-based policing officers.
This two-week certification course is free of cost to all Maryland candidates representing current D.A.R.E. participating agencies or agencies who will be implementing D.A.R.E. programs in their local communities for the 2021-22 school year. Lodging, instruction, and course materials are all provided free by M.P.C.T.C.
Training candidates representing agencies from outside the state of Maryland will be invoiced a nominal fee to cover the cost of lodging in the training center dormitory. These costs are estimated at $30.00 per day. All candidates will be responsible for their own meals each day either from the on-site cafeteria or at any of the many area dining establishments.
Participation in all sessions of the course, completion of all training objectives, and satisfactory skills performance is required for certification. There is no other entry-level D.A.R.E. Officer Training proposed for the remainder of the upcoming 2021 fiscal year in Maryland, so carefully project your needs. It is required that participants be certified law enforcement officers with two years of experience. Waivers to this requirement are possible and granted on a case by case basis upon request.
Please complete the application (and waiver for out-of-state agencies) and return it to: State D.A.R.E. Coordinator, 6852 4th Street, Sykesville, MD 21784, or emailed to: claude.nelson@maryland.gov. Applications must be authorized by the requesting agency administrator, and course registration completed through the MDLE.net on-line course registration system by your Training Coordinator. For further information call Claude Nelson at 410-875-3426 or Mike Cassament at 410-875-3474.
D.A.R.E. Officer Training Application
