I-care coalition: preventing youth substance use in east baton rouge, LA - the i care advisory council seeks to prevent youth alcohol and marijuana use in east baton rouge parish, louisiana

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board $125,000 on July 1, 2026, under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program (CFDA 93.276) to support the I-CARE Coalition's efforts to prevent youth alcohol and marijuana use in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

The coalition will strengthen community collaboration among stakeholders to implement evidence-based, comprehensive prevention strategies targeting community-level risk factors contributing to youth substance use. The coalition will employ the Strategic Prevention Framework to plan, implementing, and evaluate prevention activities. Near-term objectives through September 2027 include increasing coalition membership by 25 percent, establishing a youth leadership council at two school sites, passing a local social host ordinance, and deterring marijuana use in school parking lots. Long-term goals through September 2030 include reducing 30-day alcohol and marijuana use among eighth through twelfth graders by 3 percent.

Prevention strategies include environmental measures such as hotspot deterrence targeting locations where youth are more likely to use substances, mandatory compliance checks at alcohol retailers, and a social host ordinance holding adult hosts liable for underage drinking on their property.

The award period runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, with performance taking place in Louisiana.

The coalition will accomplish this by strengthening community collaboration among stakeholders to implement evidence-based, comprehensive prevention strategies that target the community-level risk factors that contribute to youth alcohol and marijuana use in our community. The coalition's long-term goal is to reduce 30-day use of alcohol and marijuana use by youth, as well as the overall consequences associated with use. To achieve this goal, the coalition will use the strategic prevention framework, a credible, evidence-based process for planning, implementing, and evaluating substance use prevention in communities. The coalition's short-term (september 2027) objectives are to increase coalition membership by 25%, create a youth leadership council at two school sites, to pass a local social host ordinance, and to deter marijuana use in the school parking lot before and after school. The coalition's long-term goals are to reduce 30-day use of alcohol and marijuana by 8TH -12TH graders by 3% by september 2030. To accomplish these objectives, the coalition will implement comprehensive strategies that will build the community's capacity to address youth substance use. These strategies will include environmental prevention measures such as hotspot deterrence, mandatory compliance checks, and a social host ordinance. Hotspot deterrence involves targeting specific locations, such as the school parking lot and parks, where youth are more likely to use alcohol or marijuana. Mandatory compliance checks will ensure that businesses selling alcohol are following legal requirements and not selling to underage youth. The social host ordinance will deter underage drinking parities by holding the adult host liable for allowing underage drinking on their property. The coalition will continually reassess the risk factors and local conditions associated with youth alcohol and marijuana use throughout the project timeline and identify additional environmental strategies to address these new risk factors and local conditions as they arise. The coalition will comply with the requirements of the DFC national cross-site evaluation and has an evaluation plan in place, along with an outside evaluator, to ensure that the coalition measures process and outcome measures on an ongoing basis. Additionally, the coalition will disseminate these findings broadly out to the community. The coalition will engage the 12 sectors in all phases of the strategic prevention framework, paying close attention to the recruitment and retention of a youth leadership council that will partner with the adult coalition members to plan, implement, and evaluate the prevention strategies and activities. By implementing these environmental strategies, the i care advisory council hopes to create a safer environment for youth in east baton rouge parish and reduce the likelihood of youth engaging in substance use, specifically alcohol and marijuana use. Overall, the coalition's efforts demonstrate a commitment to creating a healthier community for young people in the east baton rouge parish.