STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Mississippi State University's alcohol safety program is among the nation's oldest intervention programs having been created in 1972.
The court-mandated, 12-hour program serves 10,000 first-time offenders a year.
Program coordinator Bill Henderson says with 52 schools in 42 locations statewide, most Mississippians do not have to drive more than 50 miles to attend the four-week course.
Henderson says research shows the program has significantly lower rates of recidivism, or repeat offenders, compared to others across the country.
He says research and participants' input has enabled the classes to be tailored exactly to participant needs.
And the program's curriculum has changed over the years to include illegal drugs and prescription drug abuse.
