Arlington: Enforcement and Education
The Arlington Police Department’s DWI and Alcohol Abuse Task Force uses a three-pronged approach of education, enforcement and publicity to address minors and alcohol-related offenses. Their enforcement efforts focus on disrupting the availability of alcohol to minors, increasing DWI arrests and bar checks, strengthening DWI patrols and stings and responding to reports of large parties attended by minors. The task force goals are apprehending drunken and underage violators, intervening in underage consumption and targeting sources that make alcohol available to minors.
Contact: Community Services (817) 459-5600.
Austin: Safe Homes Program
A concerned mother in one Austin school district spearheaded an effort to provide students with safe places to gather without worry of alcohol or drugs being present. Under the Safe Homes Program, parents are asked to sign a pledge that they will not provide minors with alcohol or drugs, will not allow minors to use alcohol or drugs in their homes and supervise youth gatherings in their homes. Parents who sign the pledge are included in a directory of safe homes that is distributed in the community. The program also sponsors educational events. View a sample pledge.
Contact: Kathy Tally at KTally@aol.com.
Dallas: ALOUD Raises Awareness
In Dallas, the Alliance on Underage Drinking was formed to reduce underage drinking after police ticketed 150 youths at a Deep Ellum beer bash in 1999.
ALOUD includes representation from youth, law enforcement, government, business, faith-based, education, social service and other community organizations. Work groups are currently tackling issues such as public awareness about underage drinking risks, consistent enforcement of zero tolerance laws and beer keg registration.
ALOUD also has established partnerships with statewide underage drinking coalitions such as Texans Standing Tall, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Alliance Against Underage Drinking, co-sponsored by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Contact: Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, (214) 522-8600
El Paso: Resolved to Raise Awareness
The Regional Advisory Consortium in West Texas persuaded the El Paso County Commissioners’ Court and the El Paso City Council to pass resolutions recognizing the dangers of teen alcohol use and supporting local prevention efforts, including enforcement of the state’s underage drinking laws. Sample resolution.
Odessa: Football and Freshmen
Everyone knows high school football is big in Odessa. In the summer of 2000, the Permian Basin Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse joined the team. During the high school coach’s clinic for elementary and middle school students, the council made a presentation on the importance of avoiding alcohol and drugs.
At the college level, freshmen orientation at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin includes alcohol safety in a course called "Alcohol 101." Odessa College offered the same type of course and also will sponsor activities during Alcohol Awareness Week in October, including a discussion of date rape and binge drinking and a presentation by a counselor and recovering patient.
San Antonio: A Safer Fiesta
A city known for Fiesta, parties and margaritas has a community-wide effort to reduce underage drinking. Circles of San Antonio brought together many areas of the community to help protect young people by making policy and environmental changes. Working with Bexar County, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Sheriff’s Department, Circles of San Antonio was able to change alcohol serving hours and policies at major Fiesta events.
Contact: San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (210) 225-4741
San Marcos: A Community Crackdown
Hays County formed an Alcohol Enforcement Team in response to several alcohol-related accidents involving minors. The task force includes representatives from the Hays County Sheriff’s Department, San Marcos Police Department, Kyle Police Department, Southwest Texas State University Police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The team responds to underage drinking complaints and loud parties, and the effort has had a and dramatic impact on the community. The number of calls for loud parties and underage drinking dropped more than 41 percent in San Marcos.
Community members also have organized a committee against underage drinking. Their action plan includes community-wide educational programs, alternative activities for teens, safe home contracts, keg registration, alcohol policies for apartment complexes, alcohol education programs for university dorms and a Shattered Dreams program. There are subcommittees for parents, property owners, alcohol vendors, law enforcement and education.
Contact: Hays Caldwell Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, (512) 396-7695 or (800) 733-1214
Travis County: Why Risk It?
The Travis County Underage Drinking Prevention Program conducts a public education program, "Why Risk It?" for schools and other youth groups. "Why Risk It?" targets teens and their decisions about alcohol in a video that explores what happens in the legal system when an 18-year-old is arrested for DWI. At no cost, UDPP will train other counties on the program and coalition building.
The Travis county program also has a task force of social service agencies, law enforcement officers, MADD, TABC, school districts and local colleges united in a mission "to create a community consensus that underage drink is illegal, unhealthy and unacceptable."
Contact: (512) 854-4229.
Victoria: Teens Take the Lead
The Victorians Against Underage Drinking Coalition was formed in May 1999 after several alcohol-related incidents. The initial meeting was sponsored by the Victoria Independent School District, which featured a message from FACE, a national non-profit organization that focuses specifically on alcohol issues. A youth coalition also was formed with representatives from five area high schools and quickly became active. The students produced two public service announcements that were aired on local TV stations and arranged presentations to middle school students concerning the negative effects of alcohol. Sheriff Michael Ratcliff organized an effort to strengthen enforcement of underage drinking laws, including a crackdown on pasture parties. The sheriff also produced a poster warning adults of the legal consequences of supplying alcohol to minors, and he donated money for an alcohol-free graduation party.
Contact: Mid-Coast Family Services, (361) 575-1357 or (361) 575-6793
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