Dialogue between teens and parents must be peer group driven if productive and proactive conversations about risky and anti-social behaviors are to take place agreed Babylon parents who attended a January 6, 2009 meeting that reviewed the results of the school district's Prevention Needs Assessment Survey. The survey was administered by the school district to 7th, 10th, 12th graders last spring during English class.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to conduct such surveys every few years in order to identify and track trends. Eastern Suffolk BOCES provided grant funding for the Babylon survey.

The meeting, held at the high school, was sponsored by the Babylon Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA.) PTSA president Alena Berenblatt announced at the meeting that the PTSA is resurrecting the Babylon Family Network. This decades old network, which in recent years lost momentum, brings together Babylon parents, guardians, and community members for the safety and well-being of Babylon's youth. The centerpiece of the network is a signed pledge. Signers agree to provide a safe home where no drugs or alcohol are allowed and agree to have their contact information listed in a directory distributed to others in the Babylon Family Network. There is no fee to join the network.

In the survey, a high incidence of gambling emerged as a surprising finding, said school officials. Also troubling was the higher than average use of alcohol. Eighty percent of seniors reported ever trying alcohol and 72 percent reported using it regularly within the last 30 days.

The survey assessed for risk factors associated with drug and alcohol use, gambling, and anti-social behaviors such as active aggression and gun use. Results, except for gambling, were normed against