The 2007 Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) National Conference, Celebrating 20 years of Collaboration To Make Schools Safe, Healthy, and Drug Free: Reflecting on the Past and Looking Ahead, was a significant national event that brought together leaders at the national, regional, and local levels, including experts from various fields of health, education, mental health, substance abuse prevention, and violence prevention. The purpose of this conference was to reflect on those events that have occurred during the past 20 years, demonstrate how they have affected our current mission, and discuss what we will work to accomplish in the future.

The goals of the 2007 OSDFS National Conference were to:

• Highlight those events that have occurred during the past 20 years and reflect on what we are doing today and will do tomorrow.
• Showcase prevention programs that demonstrate effectiveness in reducing student alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, and that minimize school violence.
• Provide opportunities for leaders, decisionmakers, and policy setters to expand their knowledge about substance abuse, violence prevention, and other emerging issues facing schools today, including terrorism, crisis management, gangs, and drug testing.
• Gain knowledge and new perspectives from nationally known prevention experts, representatives from Federal agencies, leaders from local and State agencies, and school site leaders.
• Maximize efforts to keep young people safe, healthy, and drug free by strengthening existing partnerships and collaborating on key priority issues.