Oswego county youth alcohol prevention and enforcement (YAPE) initiative - the oswego county prevention coalition (OCPC), under the prevention services department of farnham family services, and…

Oswego county youth alcohol prevention and enforcement (YAPE) initiative - the oswego county prevention coalition (OCPC), under the prevention services department of farnham family services, and community partners will implement the youth alcohol prevention and enforcement (YAPE) initiative in the rural catchment area of oswego county, new york, with a specific focus on the pulaski and altmar-parish-williamstown (APW) school districts. The capacity-building efforts will impact middle and high school youth (ages 12-18), along with their parents and community members, to address underage drinking in a region marked by geographic isolation, elevated poverty, and limited access to prevention services. Sober truth on preventing underage drinking act (STOP-act) funding will allow OCPC to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth ages 12-20 in the most rural parts of oswego county through direct collaboration with school, law enforcement, healthcare, and government sector partners. The project consists of a 4-year action plan (september 30, 2026 - september 29, 2030) built around three goals: goal 1, enhance community-driven prevention of underage drinking through evidence-based strategies and meaningful youth advisory group engagement; goal 2, promote intergovernmental and community collaboration to reduce youth alcohol use through coordinated actions; and goal 3, implement a strategic planning framework to support and enhance community-driven prevention efforts. These goals are grounded in the 2026 ISA data youth development survey (formerly pride surveys), which found past-30-day youth alcohol use holding steady at 14.6% despite rising protective factors, including increased perception of risk (66% to 71.7%) and parental disapproval (85.1% to 86.4%) - indicating that current coalition-led prevention efforts are shifting norms but have not yet reduced actual use. Measurable objectives include decreasing past-30-day alcohol use to 12.0%, increasing perception of risk to 76.0%, decreasing perception of alcohol availability to 22.0%, and increasing parental disapproval to 90.0%, all by september 29, 2030. The project will collaborate with the coalition's school sector across the pulaski and APW districts, engaging 100 students per semester in evidence-based education through the alcohol literacy challenge (ALC), a single-session intervention recognized by samhsa, delivered by farnham's student assistance counselors in partnership with the new york upstate poison control center. The coalition will conduct four ALC classroom presentations per semester and develop 25 original media materials annually, projecting a combined reach of 2,500 adults and youth. Youth leaders in action (YLA), OCPC's existing youth advisory body, will be engaged from ideation through implementation on all aspects of the initiative. Enforcement efforts will focus on compliance checks, expanded law enforcement patrols in identified underage drinking hotspots, and community education. Local law enforcement will conduct compliance checks on two bars/restaurants and two liquor stores biennially to maintain accountability without overburdening the small number of retailers in this rural catchment area. In collaboration with oswego county STOP-DWI, the project will expand mock DWI demonstrations to include atvs and snowmobiles, reflecting the recreational culture and unique risk factors of rural communities where some establishments are accessible only by these vehicles. The coalition will also convene two town hall meetings annually to gather public feedback and present survey findings to underserved and geographically isolated communities. This project builds on OCPC's decade-plus history as an active coalition with representation across community sectors, and formally extends existing partnerships with farnham INC., oswego county STOP-DWI, and school and law enforcement sector partners, consistent with samhsa's strategic priorities and the administration's make america healthy again (MAHA) initative.