Stoping underage access and use of alcohol: codifying youth, parent, and retailer education and compliance in needham, MA - the town of needham proposes strengthening prevention of underage alcohol use

This project will increase alcohol education for youth, educate and engage parents, and improve retailer compliance with alcohol laws. The goals will be met through an integrated program of classroom and community education, alcohol licensee training, and clear policies enforcing compliance. Relationships between public health, schools, and police will be the backbone of the project. To reduce youth use of alcohol, the program staff will present alcoholedu (an evidence-based interactive online program designed to inform students about how alcohol affects the body, mind, perceptions, and behavior), working directly with needham youth ages 12 - 20 in health education classes. During the four years of stop funding, the program is expected to serve 4,586 students. The classes will be implemented by may 202. Progress toward reduced youth alcohol use will be measured using the BI-annual health behavior survey conducted in the needham public schools. The program will also expand the alcoholedu curriculum to the parents of 9TH and 11TH grade students (estimated at 2,800 parents total), which needham's adolescent health survey data show are the ages at which youth substance use increases markedly. In doing so, and with the addition of public forums for the community at large, the program will help to limit access to alcohol for youth. These strategies also address community norms and low perception of harm o f underage drinking. Other strategies to decrease youth access to alcohol will focus on businesses that hold licenses to serve or sell alcohol. The program will do extensive outreach to increase alcohol retailer participation in an evidence-based training program designed to prevent underage sales. The objective is to increase participation n the training from the current rate of 45% to 75% by may 2021. Concurrently, the program will measure adherence to age restricted sales through compliance checks of retail establishments. The objective is to increase compliance from the current rate of 78% to 90% by may 2021. To solidify and codify the commitment to reduce and prevent needham youth from accessing alcohol, program staff will work with town leaders and other departments to clarify and strength policies and enforcement of age restricted alcohol sales. The objective is to ensure consistent enforcement of alcohol regulations with significant consequences for offenses.