LifeSteps: Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition Who we are What we do
Partnerships Youth Partnership for Change and their youth community educators Local TABC agents and local law enforcement agencies. The Travis County Attorney s Underage Drinking Task Force in Austin Texas Standing Tall continues to provide training and support to our Coalition. Medical Community-St. David s Williamson, Seton s Williamson and Scott & White UMC
Percentage of Low Socio-Economic Students in Williamson County 84,000 students Florence 48% Georgetown 36% Granger 51% Hutto 35% Jarrell 50% Leander 19% Liberty Hill 22% Round Rock 25% Taylor 61% Thrall 26% Source: AEIS data
Data Collection TSS Surveys, TABC, Law Enforcement, et al. First use sometimes during the 5th grade year. Binge drinking rates higher in Williamson County than statewide. Our region, Region 7, has lowest perception of great risk in drinking 5 or more drinks, once or twice a week Perception of harmfulness of Marijuana is lower for youth in Williamson County than the State average. Williamson County has the second highest school drop- out rate and the second highest juvenile crime rate in the 10 county Central Texas Region
Taylor ISD 2006 Texas School Survey Grades 4-6 13% of 4th graders report lifetime alcohol use 20.4% of grades 4, 5, and 6 report alcohol use during the school year 29% of the students said some/most of their close friends drink beer, wine coolers, wine, or liquor 31% report they have already been offered alcohol 16.2% report getting their alcohol from their home 18.3% acknowledge having two or more drinks at one time 21.9% don t know how their parents feel about kids drinking beer
Taylor ISD 2006 Texas School Survey Grades 7-12 7th grade reports average age of first use is 10.2 years of age 11.4% of 9th grade report having come to class drunk 1-3 times 71.5% report having used alcohol -- 16.5% of those use it several times a month 17.6% report drinking 5 or more beers at one time 13.6% report driving a car after drinking 16.3% report attending parties where alcohol was available most of the time 10.9% don t know how their parents feel about kids
Gaps in Resources No other countywide effort specifically targets the prevention of underage drinking in Williamson County. Limited prevention efforts in isolated areas of the county: the Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD Safe Schools Healthy Students initiatives address their school districts but this is the last fiscal year for those initiatives. Taylor and other ISDs applying for prevention funds
More Gaps Discover You in Georgetown that previously worked with GISD youth to provide education and alternative activities have also become inactive-as the children of those concerned leaders have graduated from High School and left our communities. The Georgetown Project s, Guiding Healthy Choices Task Force, DSHS funding period has ended. Thus leaving the youth population in Williamson County exploding while our prevention dollars/programs are disappearing The lack of a consistent TSS survey and the lack of ability to capture the same information (especially DWI) from each law enforcement agency across Williamson County has made the collecting and collating process of data more tedious and less reliable.
Law Enforcement Agencies # of Commissioned Officers 2006 2007 Williamson County Sheriff s Dept. 189 196 Florence PD 3 3 Georgetown PD 59 66 Granger PD 3 4 Hutto PD 14 17 Round Rock PD 126 132 Taylor PD 27 25 Southwestern PD 6 6 Cedar Park PD 57 59 Leander PD 25 27 Thrall PD 3 3 Jarrell PD 2
Problem Statement Youth in Williamson County have a high drop out rate and juvenile crime rate: both factors are related to the use of ATOD. Underage drinking rates are higher in Williamson County than the State average, especially in Taylor. The perception of risk for both binge drinking and marijuana use is lower in Williamson County that the State average.
Intervening Variables Social Access-parent permissiveness. Social Norms-high self reported use. Retail Access-low enforcement/lack of resources.
Capacity to Implement Possible Environmental Strategies Targeting Intervening Variables Social Norms-no Retail Access-yes Implement more Compliance Checks
Why More Compliance Checks? Evidence shows that reduced retail availability results in lower alcohol consumption.
Conducting More Compliance Stings in a Targeted Area Taylor was selected as the target population for our environmental strategy of implementing more Retail Compliance Checks.
TABC/TPD/Constables To implement our strategy, we will partner with TABC will and local law enforcement to conduct 7 retail compliance stings in Taylor between March 2009 and March 2010.
Components of Compliance Checks Use of the media to educate the public about the legal consequences of supplying alcohol to minors. TABC will work with retailers. Shoulder tap compliance checks and other compliance checks will be used.
Compliance Checks=Minor Sting Operations Minor sting operations are undercover stings which identify retail establishments that sell to minors. When the agency conducts a minor sting and the clerk refuses to sell, the agency notifies the owner or corporation and congratulates the clerk. In some cases the corporation or owner have given the clerk a bonus for their diligence.
Types of Compliance Stings On premise Off premise Shoulder tap The use of minor sting operations in Texas has been a very valuable tool in addressing underage drinking. Working together with other law enforcement agencies, TABC has been able to make a concerted effort to curb the availability of alcohol to minors.
Procedures A minor sting operation is conducted in the same manner throughout the state. A minor is selected by the TABC or volunteers for the operation. The minors used in stings are generally agency employees' children, civic group volunteers, or recruits from local schools and school groups.
Procedures, cont. Written permission is obtained from the parent before the minor may participate. Minors are in the presence of a certified police officer at all times during the operation. The minor is instructed to dress appropriately for their age. Minors who are youthful in appearance are used and are generally 16 or 18 years old. Pictures are taken of the minor the day of the sting to attest to the youthfulness of the minor.
Procedures, cont. If identification is carried, it is the minor's own driver's license or identification card. The minor is instructed not to lie about their age or coerce the sales clerk in any way. If the sales clerk asks any questions, the minor is to be polite and truthful. The minors may be wired so the transaction is tape recorded.
Actual Sting An agent is posted inside to witness the transaction and to maintain the minor's safety. Another agent outside in a vehicle may video tape the transaction or sometimes the minor is carrying a small video camera. If the minor makes a purchase, the beer is immediately given to an agent for evidence.
Location of Sting Premises are usually selected at random. A general area of town is selected and each location in that area is assigned as part of the operation. If a second sting is conducted later in the same area, the agents may decide to only target the establishments which have complaints filed against them or places which are "known" by the minors to sell alcohol.
COMMENTS Licensed establishments whose owners and managers insist that their employees be sellertrained sell less frequently to minors. The agency encourages retailers to participate in seller training. Retailers are also encouraged to make age law and identification checks by clerks a high profile part of company policy. Signs should be prominently displayed that notify customers and serve as a constant reminder to clerks that age will be checked.
Continued Capacity Building for Coalition TSS Survey implementation in ISDs across WilCo. Funding for more Compliance Checks/Task Force