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The Wayne County Community Schools Drug Free Communities Coalition (WCCS-DFCC) serves all of Wayne County, NY, including all of its 11 school districts, with a focus on youth aged 12-20. Our target population of our proposal is comprised of approximately 5,500 youth, ages 12-18 living in Wayne County, NY. Our project is designed to reduce and prevent underage drinking in Wayne County. We carry out our objectives through the formation of a 22 member youth coalition dedicated to preventing and reducing underage drinking. Research shows that integration of youth voice can enhance prevention outcomes and that peer to peer messaging can be successful in changing social norms and giving credible, relatable information. The Evalumetrics Youth Survey guides our understanding of root cause; our youth coalition frames that understanding with actionable perspective. Our project will achieve the following objectives in order to meet this goal: • Our project will reduce lack of perception of risk or harm of alcohol use by adolescents in Wayne County as evidenced by a 20% reduction (5%/year) of baseline data on the biannual EYS. • By the end of year four, increase the perception of peer disapproval of alcohol use by 20% overall as measured by our EYS. • By the end of year four, enhance parental enforcement efforts against underage drinking as measured by a 20% increase in perception of parental disapproval of alcohol use as measured by the EYS. • By the end of year four, reduce opportunities for underage drinking through the means of positive alternatives by 10% as measured by the reported perceptions for opportunities for prosocial involvement in the community on the EYS. • By the beginning of year two, all involved local court systems and school district’s administration will have formed a county-wide Restorative Justice Committee. • By the end of year two, the Restorative Justice Committee will form recommendations to town/county youth courts and school districts’ boards of education to change punitive measures to include substance abuse education as measured by ADPEP and other prevention education program participation logs. • By the end of year four, school districts and courts will report a 5% reduction in repeat offenders for alcohol related offenses of people under the age of 21. Specific strategies that we will use to achieve these objectives are: 1) We will form a 22 member county-wide Youth Coalition whose main purpose will be to address the issue of underage drinking. 2) Youth will develop and disseminate an educational campaign to inform youth of the risks associated with underage drinking 3) Youth will develop a communication campaign to address social norms and peer approval. 4) We will follow the Youth Partner Model, as identified in the Wake Forest University’s Information Guide Series, “Engaging Youth to Improve Substance Misuse Prevention. 5) All targeted youth will participate in the ADPEP 6-hour course for youth.

The Western Maine STOP Act Project’s overarching goal is to reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults ages 12-20 in communities throughout the Western Public Health District in Maine. The Western Public Health District (WPHD) consists of three (3) counties, Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties. Continuously identified as a top health priority among all counties in the WPHS, substance and alcohol use are greatly impacting both youth and adults. To address the needs of services related to alcohol use and prevention, efforts of the Western Maine STOP Act Project will; address norms regarding alcohol use by youth, reduce opportunities for underage drinking, create changes in underage drinking enforcement efforts, address penalties for underage use, and/or reduce negative consequences associated with underage drinking. The project will address and each and every one of the needs of the communities in the WPHD by implementing primary prevention strategies to increase awareness and knowledge of the risk of use and misuse and its effects on individuals, families and communities and reducing the accepted social norms around underage drinking and binge drinking by strengthening community partnerships and participation in substance use prevention activities. With an experienced team of prevention specialists and strong partnerships with district partners and key community stakeholders, the Western Maine STOP Act Project will be effectively implemented in the communities of the service area to reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults ages 12-20.

The Kent County Regional Prevention Coalition supports the prevention of substance use and misuse, with a focus on youth. Under the Drug Free Communities program, the coalition further refined its focus to undertake a series of substance use reduction activities targeted at LGBTQ+ youth. The goal of these activities is to effectuate a lasting and sustainable reduction of substance use. STOP grant funds will be utilized to enhance the work of the DFC by focusing on underage drinking in Kent County, specifically within the LGBTQ+ community. Specifically, the KCRPC will increase the capacity of community collaborations to support the engagement of additional LGBTQ+ youth within the Coalition while also working to decrease alcohol use among the LGBTQ+ youth by implementing evidence-based strategies in Kent County that address perception of harm/risk.

Underage Drinking can be reduced by the use of environmental strategies and through the use of the Strategic Prevention Framework. These impacts in communities are further enhanced when resources are available to organizations specializing in youth substance use reduction, such as Youth Empowerment Source (YES) and Drug Free Cecil Youth Coalition (DFCYC). The YES Coalition is in year 3 of its DFC funding and although it focuses on the 21901 zip code, our application for the STOP Act funding will allow us to expand activities to the entire county. There are several initiatives planned to address this issue, at various stages of development. The STOP Act Grant will enhance these efforts by providing critically needed resources to assist with funding the Youth Advisor, who coordinates all activities, events and clubs throughout the county, and by allowing us the resources to scale up initiatives which we have piloted but not fully implemented. Our DFC award has allowed us to begin these efforts in a very limited capacity, but the STOP Act grant would allow us to expand Prom Promise to all schools in the district, implement an underage drinking specific media campaign, and provide Responsible Beverage Service training free of charge. We will add an evidence based lesson on underage drinking to our annual Youth Summit, include evidence based lessons in our school prevention clubs and have a youth presentation on underage drinking at our annual Youth Rally.

CAPP ~ Changers Alcohol Prevention Project Coastal Communities DFC’s Youth Alcohol Prevention Project CAPP (Changers Alcohol Prevention Project) sponsored by Coastal Communities DFC, is designed to prevent or reduce underage alcohol use among youth aged 12-20, including targeted youth populations – Latinos and Pan Asians, utilizing: San Diego Unified School District California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) results which indicate that the targeted youth in our region have one of the highest alcohol use rates in the County. Law enforcement data shows 25% of retail licensees have sold to underage youth, demonstrating further need for environmental intervention. Project Goals are by 9/29/2027 to Goal 1. Increase youth participation in alcohol use prevention by developing an ethnically diverse youth group, the "Changers" aged 12-20, representative of the underserved community, to provide alcohol use prevention information. Goal 2. Increase collaboration with alcohol licensees to implement responsible and best retail practices, through assessment and education in an alcohol licensees onsite training, regarding the harm from alcohol use through retail sources by youth under the age of 21. Goal 3. Increase the education and engagement of parents and the community, regarding the harm from alcohol use through social sources by youth under the age of 21. Project Objectives are by 9/29/2027 to reduce alcohol use by youth (12-20) by 15%, as measured by the SDUSD’s CHKS through: Objective 1.1. Alcohol use prevention education and refusal skills presentations on elementary, middle, and high school campuses by youth group, the Changers aged 12-20, representative of the underserved community, who have been recruited and trained to provide alcohol use prevention information, on elementary, middle, and high school campuses, 10 presentations per year. Objective 2.1. Assessing and educating alcohol licensees regarding responsible retail laws and skills, 15 licensees per year. Objective 3.1. Facilitation of two Town Halls and distribution of information, per year, on school campuses, two Town Halls per year. The estimated number served: 3000 youth, aged 12-20, and 1,500 parents, and 2000 community members, TOTAL 6500 individuals; 26,000 over project.

White Plains Coalition STOP Act Project The White Plains Cares Coalition (WPCC) serves the City of White Plains, NY, in Westchester County. The population to be served is White Plains youth ages 12-18 and their parents/guardians. The WPCC STOP Act project will include the implementation of a wide spread educational campaign to improve the ability of parents to set and follow through with clear alcohol prevention messages. White Plains is a diverse city of 59,559 people (US Census 2020). The racial/ethnic demographics of the City are: 45.1% White; 33.2% Hispanic or Latino; 11.9% Black; 7.7% Asian and; 1.9% other. 11.9% of White Plains residents are living below the poverty level. The project’s participants will reflect the demographics of the community. The goal of the WPCC’s Stop Act project is to decrease underage drinking among White Plains youth ages 12-18 by implementing a wide spread educational campaign to improve the ability of parents/guardians to set and follow through with clear alcohol prevention messages. The campaign will reach 300 parents/guardians each year for a total of 1,200 over the life of the project. By the end of the four year grant period, the WPCC will achieve these following objectives: 1) Improve by 5% parental ability among 1200 White Plains parents/guardians of youth ages 12-18 to set very clear family rules about alcohol use, evidenced by parental survey results. 2) Improve by 5% among 1200 White Plains parents/guardians of youth ages 12-18 parental report of parental disapproval of underage drinking, evidenced by parental survey results. 3) Improve by 5% among 1200 White Plains 12th grade students perception of parental disapproval of underage drinking, evidenced by youth survey results. 4) Decrease past 30 day use of alcohol among 1200 White Plains 12th grade students by 5%, evidenced by youth survey results. 5) Decrease binge drinking among 1200 White Plains 12th grade students by 5%, evidenced by youth survey results.

Youth Council STOP Underage Drinking Project will capitalize on the prevention work Apache County Youth Council is already engaged in. It will focus attention on improving prevention in the area of underage drinking, by engaging our coalition, and working directly with law enforcement and the schools to educate about the dangers of underage drinking, the legal and health consequences of underage drinking, and creating policies and consequences of underage drinking. Apache County is a very rural county within Arizona. The communities within the county are geographical islands, separated by at least 30 miles of wide open country. These unique characteristics make providing prevention services difficult and time consuming. Being a recipient of the STOP Act Grants through the Department of Health and Human Services through SAMHSA is crucial in Apache County Youth Council's efforts to reduce the heartache of addiction and loss through our prevention and education efforts. Apache County Youth Council is proud and grateful to receive this funding and will work hard to address the underage drinking crisis in Apache County. Through education, community partnerships, and engaging youth we will advocate for the health and wellness of our community members.

The Tempe Community Council STOP Act Project, facilitated by the Tempe Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking and Drug Use (Coalition), focuses on preventing underage drinking and problem drinking among youth ages 12-20 years living in Tempe, Arizona, or attending school or college in the Tempe, Kyrene School Districts or Arizona State University (ASU). The proposed project will enhance the capacity that was established through DFC funding and increase the Coalition’s effectiveness in addressing underage drinking by identifying contextual factors that contribute to underage drinking and problem drinking among youth ages 12-20 years. These results will occur through implementing evidence-based programs, education, and awareness activities and support opportunities that address attitudes and behaviors associated with youth alcohol use. The anticipated yearly reach is 60,000 adults and 12,000 youth. Measurable objectives for this project include: (1) Strengthening cooperation, coordination and collaboration by 15% among all 12 sectors of the coalition, key government stakeholders and the citizens of the community to reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults; (2) Increasing knowledge and skills of Coalition members and key stakeholders by 25% on current best-practices in preventing underage drinking, trauma-informed approaches, youth resiliency building and addressing health inequities; (3) Increasing Coalition skills for using data-driven decision-making to respond to and prevent underage drinking and problem drinking by 20%; (4) Obtaining 10% increases in youth, parent and community member perception of the risks of underage drinking, problem drinking and combining alcohol with opioids; (5) obtaining a 5% decrease in youth accessing alcohol through local alcohol retailers; (6) obtaining a 20% increase in parent/caregiver skills to discuss the risks of underage drinking and ways to foster healthy coping strategies and resiliency skills with their youth and young adults; and (7) obtaining a 20% increase in resiliency, coping and stress management skills among high school youth. Implementation strategies include providing information, building skills, changing consequences, and changing physical design through a 21 or Too Young campaign that includes a Sticker Shock campaign in local alcohol retailers. Additional strategies include student and parent/caregiver community education and training, utilization of the Botvin Life Skills Evidence-Based Program to increase life skills and develop youth resiliency skills and hosting the annual Champions for Youth event to publicly recognize youth and community members for their efforts to prevent underage drinking in the Tempe community.

The Problem of underage drinking is a serious threat to the youth, families and communities in Morgan County, WV. For this project, the Morgan County Partnership has identified the risk and protective factors for underage drinking which we will use to support environmental prevention and reduction strategies. Our focus is on policy change/awareness, enforcement and youth-led social norms campaign along with prevention education to accomplish our goals. The Morgan County Partnership (MCP) is a coalition made up of local citizens united in a shared vision of building a supportive network for our young people, their families and others connected with them. One of our main focuses is on drug and alcohol prevention. MCP serves the entire county that consists of around 17,500 people. With a school age children's poverty rate of 82% (Morgan County Board of Education), the probability of health and social risk is of high concern. As a result of the youths'/young adults' 30 day and annual use of alcohol ranking higher than the national average along with the lower than national average of perception of risk of underage drinking by parents and peers, the following goals are presented for the STOP Act grant: The first goal is to reduce underage drinking, specifically among youth ages 12-20, by implementing evidence-based programs and practices in local youth serving agencies, the school system, and higher education. This goal will be accomplished through the following objectives: 1. Reduce the youths' and young adults' past 30-day use of alcohol by 5% measured by the Pride survey along with 2. Reduce the youths' and young adults' annual use of alcohol by 5% as measured by the Pride survey. Strategies will include additional in school evidence-based programs, compliance checks, and training for servers. The second goal of the program is to educate youth and parents on positive social norms to effectively prevent underage drinking and change negative community norms. This goal will be accomplished through the following objectives: Increase the youths' and young adults' parental perception of risk by 5% as measured by the Pride survey along with the second objective to increase the youths' and young adults' view of peer perception of risk by 5% as measured by the Pride survey. Some of the strategies include Town Hall meetings, community conversations, PSA contests with involvement from the youth coalition and social norms campaigns. From these goals and objectives, we hope to expand our capacity and capabilities of working effective environmental strategies to address underage drinking prevention. At a minimum, 6,000-8,000 people annually will be part of our efforts or be affected by our initiatives. We intend to serve all sectors of our community throughout the life span of this grant.

Applicant Organization Information Chenango Health Network Inc. Address: 19 Eaton Ave Norwich, New York, 13815. Entity Type: Not for Profit 501C3 Rural Health Network Website: www.chenangohealth.org Project Director and Key Personnel Project Director, Kimberly Lorraine kimberly@chenangohealth.org 607-337-4171 Project Coordinator, Braderick Morrison braderick@chenangohealth.org 607-336-2731 Project Summary The Drug Free Chenango coalition will increase their service area from one to three school districts, expanding the alcohol related prevention activities in the Drug Free Communities work plan into two previously unserved areas. Strategies/Interventions 1.Provide Information to parents, youth, and other community members about the risks associated with early alcohol use, how to talk with kids about delaying alcohol use, and the laws and consequences of supplying youth with alcohol. 2.Enhance Skills by providing PAX Tools evidence based Community Trainings designed to increase protective factors that contribute to delay of substance use. 3.Improve Access to safe alcohol and other substance free alternatives by developing Safe Sober After Prom initiatives that involve the entire community. Goals 1. Increase community collaboration. 2. Reduce youth alcohol use and misuse among youth. Objectives 1a. By December 2023, the STOP Act Coordinator will recruit two schools in Chenango County to the Drug Free Chenango Coalition. 1b. By March 2024 the STOP Act Coordinator will on board 6 new coalition members who live or work in the new school districts 1c. Establish a bi weekly Youth Coalition (PULSE) meeting in the two newly recruited schools by September 2024. 2a. By August 2027 Community Educators will provide 16 PAX Community Tool trainings. 2b. By August 2027 STOP Act Coordinator will provide alcohol risk information to 4000 community members. 2c. By August 2027 two schools will develop, implement and sustain pre and post prom activities that increase access to substance free activities. Performance Measures 1.Decrease 30-day use reported by 9th to 11th graders by 3% in two Chenango County schools as reported by the PRIDE survey. 2. Increase perception of risk of Alcohol use reported by 9th to 11th graders by 3% in two Chenango County Schools. 3. Increase perception of Parental disapproval reported by 9th to 11th graders by 3% in two Chenango County Schools. 4. Increase perception of peer disapproval reported by 9th to 11th graders in two Chenango County schools.

Iowa Alliance of Coalitions for Change (AC4C) Alcohol Outlet Density- Underserved Communities- STOP Act Access to alcohol has increased greatly in Iowa in the past decade after hard liquor was allowed to be sold in gas stations. Sales of liquor and alcohol-involved deaths have increased dramatically. This STOP Act project will use one of the most evidence-based strategies, alcohol outlet density policies, as well as other advertising policies and best practice media campaigns to reduce underage drinking and its negative consequences for youth and families. The project will focus on underserved populations in three communities of focus spread throughout Iowa. The population to be served through the AC4C STOP Act project is ultimately the youth, age 12-20 in Iowa, particularly in three underserved populations in the communities of Waterloo, Council Bluffs, and Sioux City. The strategies and interventions to be utilized include alcohol outlet density policy work and alcohol-related harms mapping, town hall meetings, other advertising restriction policy work, and media campaigns including the national media campaign, “Talk. They Hear You.” The number of people to be served annually through population-level strategies will be approximately 100,000 with a goal of reaching 50% of the parents/guardians of the youth and other community members in the focus communities. Throughout the lifetime of the project will include approximately 200,000 people, as the reach expands throughout the state.

The Milwaukee County Substance Abuse Prevention (MCSAP) coalition, organized by Community Advocates Inc., is honored to meet the goals of the Drug Free Communities Support Program to prevent and reduce substance use among youth by addressing community factors in Milwaukee's 53206 Zip code. We are grateful to have received a second five-year DFC grant in 2020 and STOP Act funding from 2017-2020. Community Advocates' proposed STOP Act project will prioritize low-income African American youth ages 12-20 living in the 53206 Zip code neighborhoods of Amani and Lindsay Heights. They make up the vast majority of the 3,872 youth between the ages of 12 and 20 living in our priority neighborhoods. The Amani and Lindsay Heights residents face extreme, longstanding, structural and systemic disparities not seen in other parts of the city and, unfortunately, generational trauma and substance use has been normalized. With our FY2023 STOP Act funding we seek to enhance our work by focusing on environmental factors, most prominently the retail environment in the 53206 community, to reduce opportunities for underage drinking. Preliminary scans show that alcohol retailer density is disproportionately high in our priority neighborhoods and youth have easy access to alcohol within these stores. We seek to scan 75% of the alcohol retailers in 53206 over the course of this grant and to utilize this data internally as a coalition to build our infrastructure and capacity and to present it to the community, stakeholders, and elected officials. Ultimately, the new data and community awareness will help to reduce behavioral health disparities in this under-served community.

San Lorenzo Hayward Acres Mobilized (SLHAM) is a grassroots community organization established in 2019, based in the urban unincorporated area of Alameda County and surrounding areas working to address decades of disenfranchisement, disinvestment, redlining and the effects of the war on drugs. We work to build resident and youth voices to shift the dynamics of power through our advocacy efforts. Capacity is built through mentoring, training sessions, and hands-on learning opportunities to gain the skills needed to make environmental level change. Our work focuses almost exclusively to uplift the voices of youth, underserved, and marginalized residents in order to shift the dynamic of power that has left the unincorporated area with limited resources, less municipal representation, and economically disadvantaged, making it difficult to build safe, prosperous and drug-free community. San Lorenzo and Hayward Acres are uniquely located in Alameda County Urban Unincorporated Area which is governed by the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors are advised on issues and policies relating to the unincorporated area by a network of Municipal Advisory Councils, grassroots community groups, and committees with two Supervisors who represent the majority of the unincorporated area. SLHAM directly works with 1-- residents per year and 400 over the lifetime of the project. SLHAM activities and messaging reaches over 100,000 residents a year, and has reached over 400,000 since 2019. The goals of SLHAM Youth Rising are 1.) SLHAM will grow resident youth leadership in Hayward Acres, San Lorenzo, and the unincorporated area to mobilize are youth substance use issues and engage elected officials who represent the unincorporated area with a focus on the prevention of underage drinking ; 2) To increase SLHAM's capacity and reach in order to grow impressions and visibility to increase awareness of youth alcohol use and misuse; 3.) To reduce the density of alcohol outlets in the unincorporated area; 4) Changing community norms and a low youth perception of risk or harm of drinking alcohol.

United Way of Broward County’s Commission on Behavioral Health & Drug Prevention created in 2002 the Task Force to Address Underage Drinking, now rebranded as the Youth Action Team (YAT). The YAT facilitated the first Social Norms Project in Broward County. The Commission has implemented across Broward County, Florida environmental and education campaigns in order to decrease the rate of underage drinking in the community. Broward County—located on the southeast coast of Florida, bordered on the north by Palm Beach County, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Miami-Dade County, and on the west by the Everglades—is a large and unique geographic area. It is the second largest metropolitan area in the state. Encompassing 1,230 square miles, it is home to 1.9 million residents, or 8.9% of Florida’s total population, and its population is growing rapidly. The project will be especially focused on the cities of Pembroke Pines and Weston, located on the western side of the county. The goals of this project will be 1. To engage parents/caregivers, youth, the school community, government officials, law enforcement, media, and other community organizations in coordinated enforcement and environmental efforts to reduce underage drinking and, 2. Increase parent/caregiver and youth access to information and resources about substance use which may help reduce underage drinking. The project consists of three evidence-based community approaches: 1. Underage Drinking Environmental Program, 2) Know the Law media campaign, and 3) dissemination of Talk. They Hear You. resources and screening tool, especially focusing on the Hispanic/Latino population in Broward County; 2. Know the Law media campaign; and 3. Dissemination of Talk. They Hear You. resources and screening tool. The primary population of focus will be the Hispanic/Latino population—specifically, youth and young adults aged 12-20 years and Hispanic/Latino parents and other adults with some level of influence over these youth. However, the project will positively affect others in Pembroke Pines and across the entire county.

Bethel's Global Reach (BGR), Inc. Stop Underage Drinking project will expand Houston's prevention infrastructure by forming three Alcohol Response Committees serving the three communities constituting Houston Independent School District (HISD) high schools (Kashmere, Sterling, and Wisdom) catchment areas. Six community partners including HISD and Bethel's Community Coalition have committed to supporting the STOP project implementation through the expansion of a mix of evidence-based prevention strategies, programs, and activities. Houston, TX is a city of 2.3 million people: 50% of Harris County's population and the 4th largest in the county. (Census, 2020) The racial and ethnic makeup include 51.5% White, 22.8% Black, 6.9% Asian, 7% Multiracial; 44.5% of the population identify as Hispanic of any race. HISD is in stark contrast with the city. Most of the students (90%) represent one or more racial minority group, of whom 61.7% identify as Hispanic in ethnicity. Furthermore, poverty is predominant among HISD students - 78.5% are considered below the poverty line (HISD, 2021) compared to 19.6% citywide (Census, 2020). BGR will facilitate implementation of each component of the SPF (assessment, capacity, planning, implementation, and evaluation) ensuring a high degree of cultural competency and probability of sustainability. The assessment step will begin with updating the existing Houston Epidemiology Profile within the first 60 days along with a Behavioral Health Disparities Impact Statement. The updated epidemiology profile will provide more complete information on the origin and effect of underage drinking, alcohol use disorder, and recovery in Kashmere, Sterling, and Wisdom high school communities. In addition, the project will engage Houston youth in geo mapping and environmental scans to identify root causes of underage drinking and associated problem behaviors. This new information will be used to strengthen prevention capacity, build infrastructure, and leverage other funding streams and resources using coordinated outreach and messaging strategies. At the end of the 4-year project, BGR will have expanded Houston prevention infrastructure to serve over 8,020 high school youth and significantly prevent and reduce underage drinking in our community.

The Palm Beach County Substance Abuse Coalition (DBA Palm Beach County Behavioral Health Coalition proposed Alcohol Free in '23 and Beyond will provide resources, leadership, proven strategies and program evaluation to strengthen local prevention capacity and infrastructure. While addressing disparities among youth people's use, the project will reduce high rates for drinking use and address mental health concerns. The Coalition has a long history of success and stewardship of federal, state and local dollars and is committed to building healthy communities through substance abuse prevention., wellness and recovery support. The community it serves is highly diverse with nearly 52% of its 167K local students eligible for free and reduced lunch. Disparities are evident with higher use, rates and mental health concerns among Black/African American and Hispanic youth. High rates of use and low perception of harm highlight the need for infrastructure development to increase local capacity to implement, sustain and improve substance abuse prevention and promote mental health while ensuring effectiveness through data collection and high quality programs evaluation. The goals of this projects are to 1. Decrease underage drinking through addressing norms regarding alcohol use by youth 2. Reduce opportunities for underage drinking while promoting health and 3. Create change in underage enforcement efforts. Utilizing the strategic Prevention Framework, focused on assessment, capacity building, planning implements and evaluation and utilizing a continuous improvement model, the strategies adopted to meet the objectives on based on CADCA's Institute's framework. They include providing information and support through outreach and media outlets, enhancing skills with training, changing consequences through targeted campaigns, environmental scans, compliance checks, and materials for parents, alcohol outlets and policy change strategies. Using this model, 240,000 community members are expected to be served throughout this project.

Old Colony YMCA is the lead applicant for the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act Grant as the fiscal agent for the Drug Free Communities-funded Easton Wings of Hope Coalition. Easton Wings of Hope's mission is to prevent youth substance use through education, awareness, and policy change in the town of Easton, MA. For this project, the coalition will focus on the prevention of underage alcohol use of youth ages 12-20 in Easton by implementing evidence-based strategies through community collaboration to address local conditions and root causes that lead to underage alcohol use. The target population consists of students in grades 7-12 in Easton Public Schools (1,646 students), and college students ages 18-20 enrolled at Stonehill College (about 1,245). The coalition will be making efforts to reduce underage drinking by addressing norms regarding alcohol use, reduce opportunities for underage drinking, create changes in underage drinking enforcement efforts, address penalties for underage use, and reduce negative consequences associated with underage drinking. The work will build off of the current Drug Free Communities Grant by continuing to us the Strategic Prevention Framework and Seven Strategies for Community Change to implement evidence-based strategies to achieve the following goals: -Establish and strengthen collaboration among community stakeholders and organizations to address underage alcohol use. -Reduce underage alcohol use among youth by addressing the factors in the community that increase the risk of substance use and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance use. Under goal one, the coalition's objective is to build the capacity of the coalition to impact youth substance use by increasing adult engaged membership by 5% and youth engaged membership by 20% each year, as measured by participation & attendance at community meetings, community events, and/or volunteer opportunities. Under goal two, the coalition's objective is to reduce 30-day use rates of alcohol in students in grades 9 through 12 by 1% and increase perception of risk for use of alcohol in grades 7 through 12 by 3% each year as measured by the Youth Healthy Survey, and reduce 30-use rates of alcohol by 1% each year in college students ages 18-20 and decrease use of alcohol as a coping and social tool in college students ages 18-20 by 3% each year, as measured by the BASICS and E-Check Up To Go Assessments conducted through Stonehill Collège. The coalition aims to achieve these goals and objectives by completing activities outlines in the Strategic Prevention Framework, including provide information, enhance skills, provide support to increase opportunities for healthy, drug-free activities, enhance access and reduce barriers to systems and services that help prevent underage alcohol use, change consequences and physical design in the community, and educated on and modify policies.

Mayes County HOPE coalition is implementing this STOP Act Project to promote healthy decision making and reduce and prevent alcohol use among the youth and young adults in Mayes County, Oklahoma. The target population of the STOP Act Project is the Pryor Public School District, which includes the town of Pryor (zip codes: 74361 & 74362) and outlying areas defined by district boundaries (99 square miles). Pryor is the largest community in Mayes County, a very rural, economically depressed area of Northeastern Oklahoma. Our project anticipates being able to impact the 3000 students and an additional 6000 adults within the 74361 and 73462 zip codes. Established in 2008, Mayes County HOPE is a multi-faceted, non-profit organization that aims to improve the quality of life of its residents by reducing high-risk health behaviors. The STOP Act Project will enhance the capacity of the coalition to address underage drinking by raising awareness through prevention campaigns and outreach events and decreasing youth social access to alcohol by modifying policies and building capacity in our HOPE and youth coalitions. Lack of opportunities and safe sources of entertainment for youth has led to increased concern over alcohol use by youth and young adults in Mayes County. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, there were 16 alcohol-related arrests among youth ages 10-20 in Mayes County in 2018, and in 2017, alcohol related crime represented 0.6% of all crimes among youth ages 12-17. Current data from OSBI shows that there were 10 juvenile arrests for alcohol in 2022. Contributing to youth substance use are social norms accepting of use and low perceived risk of harm. Additionally, social access contributes to underage drinking with 43.1% of Mayes 10th graders and 58% of 12th graders reporting getting alcohol from someone they know over the age of 21. With this STOP Act Project, our coalition will continue to increase community collaboration to achieve reduced youth substance use. Mayes County HOPE Coalition has proven its ability to successfully implement and monitor grant activities and track measurable outcomes. This STOP Act funding will serve to enhance, not replace, the capacity of the coalition and further reduce underage drinking in the community.?

The name of the project is Underage Drinking Prevention Program. The program is tailored to potentially reach up to 1,500 students, ages 12-20, who attend middle or high schools in Ft Defiance. The school district is on Navajo Nation in Arizona, bordering to New Mexico. Students are 99% Navajo American Indian and 0.8% Hispanic. The majority of the total population focus represents underserved communities with 43% living below the poverty level. There is no reliable data source for Fort Defiance of social ills that can describe the lived experiences and environment. Due to the location of Fort Defiance, bordering McKinley County (MKC), New Mexico, and the closet accessible town being Gallup (32 miles from Fort Defiance), NM, substance use data in MKC may be more reliable. Fort Defiance residents come to Gallup for purchasing supplies and participate in widely cultural goods selling in Gallup, as it is a purchasing hub for Navajo jewelry and art. When comparing the following data to overall NM data, Alcohol Related Deaths are 185% higher, Alcohol Related Chronic Disease Death is 212% higher, and Alcohol Related Injury Death is 122% higher in MKC. In addition to underage drinking prevention activities implementation in schools and outreach events, the program is focused on developing a policy that will enable the Navajo Police Department to mandate a culturally specific youth development program participation for underage drinking offenders. This strategy supports the progression of past and present programs and creates a sustainable change. The following goals and objectives have been developed for the program and are aligned with the funding strategies. Strategies: Provide Information. Enhance skills. Provide Support. Enhance access/reduce barriers. Goal 1. To increase youth underage drinking education in schools and community settings in Ft. Defiance, AZ, and surrounding areas. Objective 1.1. By the end of the program period, CBI will have reached 120 poster contest entries focused on underage drinking prevention. Objective 1.2. By the end of the program period, CBI will have reached 27 Chapters in Ft. Defiance area with underage drinking prevention awareness and education outreach. Strategies: Information sharing. Change consequences. Modify/change policies. Goal 2. To increase intergovernmental and community coordination and on how to address underage drinking. Objective 2.1. By September 29, 2024, CBI will have drafted an underage drinking offender policy in collaboration with 12 Sectors and the NYBC. Objective 2.2. By September 29, 2025, CBI will have gained majority support of the 27 Chapters in the Ft. Defiance region for the underage drinking offender policy. Objective 2.3. By the end of the program period, CBI will have published 4 social media challenges to engage community members in tackling the underage drinking use. Strategies: Provide information. Enhance skills. Provide support. Enhance access/reduce barriers. Goal 3: Increase information and skills for youth and adult residents of Ft. Defiance and surrounding areas in underage drinking awareness and traditional teachings. Objective 3.1. By the end of the program period, CBI will have delivered Underage Drinking Awareness Training to 100 underage drinking offenders in the Ft. Defiance and surrounding areas. Objective 3.2. By the end of the program period, CBI will have provided the Horse Journey culturally appropriate training to 10 community leaders in Ft. Defiance. Objective 3.3. Within six months of the program, but no later than March 30, 2024, CBI will have developed a 12 month Action Plan that builds upon the DFC program.

Family Services of Westchester, Inc. (FSW) with the commitment of Coalition partners including the local School District and other prominent municipal and community stakeholders, proposes to reduce underage drinking in Port Chester, NY through the STOP Act funding. The Port Chester Cares Prevention Program (PCCP) will enable Port Chester to develop and execute data-driven, culturally appropriate strategies to reduce underage drinking and associated adverse consequences. Specific infrastructure expansions include regular measurement of underage use, and risk and protective factors; implementation of a prevention curriculum in the middle school; establishing project-based prevention activities among students; addressing mental health needs and stigma reduction; and building upon successful community initiatives developed under a previous Drug Free Communities Grant. Port Chester, NY is a culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse community, and the population of focus will be middle and high-schoolers, grades 6 –12, attending Port Chester public schools, and their families. Port Chester Middle School has an enrollment of 900 students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade, while Port Chester High School hosts grades 9 – 12 and has a current enrollment of 1,200. Seventy-five percent of the student body in 2021 was economically disadvantaged, which is up from 65% in the 2012-2013 school year (the first year such data was recorded). Of the total student body, 83% identify as Hispanic/Latino, and 36% are English language learners. Port Chester, NY, is located in southeast Westchester, and forms part of the New York City metropolitan statistical area. With a population of 31,693 (US Census, 2020), it is the fifth-most populous village in New York State. Port Chester constitutes an underserved community and is home to populations significantly impacted by SUD and challenged by barriers preventing access to services. Our overall purpose is to reduce underage drinking and associated adverse events in Port Chester. By building the infrastructure of the Coalition, we aim to address the risk and protective factors that influence substance use and establish supports in the community for young people and families. Goals and objectives of the program are to: Decrease underage alcohol use and achieve a reduction of at least 10% in 30-day alcohol use rates among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders by September 2027 and a reduction of at least 10% in lifetime alcohol use rates among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders by September 2027; Address norms regarding drinking as evidenced by an increase in the percentage of students who report peer disapproval of alcohol use by 10% by September of 2027, an increase in the percentage of students who perceive underage alcohol use as harmful by September of 2027 and an increase in the percentage of students who report parental disapproval for alcohol use by 10% by September 2027; Provide social and emotional learning supports to middle schoolers by training 30 community adults in Youth Mental Health First Aid and increase community-wide prevention and pro-social practices by adding 100 students to a community service project, educating 1,200 middle school using the All Stars curriculum and provide adult-focused prevention messaging to at least 300 parents/adults annually and 1,200 students by September 2027.

PACT Coalition for Safe and Drug Free Communities (PACT) will identify, establish, and implement relevant evidence-based community approaches that will expand and increase the coalition's ability to address underage drinking in the community as well as strengthen community collaboration to reduce alcohol use among youth. PACT will focus on the 89146-zip code, near the 89144- zip code currently served under DFC funds, but in an underserved community. PACT is working with Bonanza High School, utilizing an evidence-based program in school. As a Title 1 school, Bonanza is recognized as having a high number of students who come from economically disadvantaged situations. According to the 2021 and 2022 Accountability Report, 2,082 students attend Bonanza with the following racial demographics: 58% Hispanic, 15% Black, 15% White, 5% Pacific Islander, 5% two or more races, 3% Asian, and 3% Native American. Bonanza High School student body is composed of a minority majority, meaning most students identify as Black, Latino, Indigenous, Native American, Asian, and Pacific Islanders. As defined by Executive Order 13895 referenced in the notice of funding, 89146 meets the definition of an underserved community. Additionally, Bonanza High School is ranked number 68th out of 72 high schools in Clark County. This ranking is based on state-required tests, graduation and how well they prepare students for college. Rates of poverty are likewise amplified within CCSD's demographics. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, CCSD is reported as having 18.3% of 5 to 17 year olds living in poverty in 2018. This grant application focuses on three goals, goal 1: PACT will work to assess students and their families to understand the social norms around underage drinking and develop a prevention plan specific to these findings. Goal 2 is PACT will work to reduce opportunities for underage drinking by reducing access and availability. Goal 3 is PACT will collect and analyze the local conditions specific to underage drinking among students at Bonanza High School by conducting listening sessions with the students and then develop a prevention plan strengthen enforcement efforts and address penalties of underage drinking, ensuring harmful, punitive consequences are avoided. PACT will identify, establish, and implement relevant evidence-based community approaches that will expand and increase the coalition's ability to address underage drinking in the community by engaging instructors in the Clark County School District (CCSD) to implement an evidence-based program at Bonanza High School. Using practices and initiatives such as evidence-based programs that have been proven to reduce alcohol use among youth will help to complete our goal to increase awareness of the prevalence and risks of underage drinking and substance use to youth and parents of underrepresented communities in Clark County to reduce barriers. PACT will enhance intergovernmental cooperation and coordination on the issue of alcohol use among youth and young adults through the creation or enhancement of policies that reduce youth's ability to use alcohol furthermore, we are a community in need of more strict enforcement of penalties for those who continue to sell alcohol to youth. ?? PACT Coalition will strengthen collaboration among communities, the federal government, state, local, and tribal governments to reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults. PACT will disseminate timely information to communities regarding state-of-the-art practices and initiatives that have proven to be effective in preventing and reducing alcohol use among youth.

Carlsbad STOP Act Grant Abstract The Carlsbad Community Anti-Drug/Gang Coalition’s proposed activities for the STOP Act Grant will expand evidence-based prevention initiatives to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth ages 12-20. A youth council will be strengthened and will lead schoolwide service-learning projects for their peers and community events to include parents and other adults to address norms related to alcohol use by youth. Carlsbad’s STOP grant will provide regular presentations to 6th grade students to establish positive norms and personal commitments to avoid risky behaviors (including substance use), promote bonding to the school and peer group, and build positive parent/adult connections. Community-level work will include Town Halls, media campaigns, the advocacy for a Social Host Ordinance. Our goal is to mobilize community efforts to reduce substance abuse and gang activity among youth. We work together to promote a healthy, safe community, and target risk factors that lead to substance abuse. • Goal 1: Reduce current drinking and binge drinking among middle and high school youth in Eddy County. • Goal 2: Delay onset of alcohol initiation of youth reported drinking before the age of 13 in Eddy County. • Objective 1: Increase healthy norms and beliefs around underage alcohol use (the belief that it is never ok to provide alcohol to minors, perceived disapproval, perception of harm) among Eddy County youth and parents by 1% in Eddy County by June 30, 2024. (Increase by 4% by June 30, 2027) • Objective 2: Decrease social access of alcohol among youth in Eddy County, by parents, adults and parties by 1% by June 30, 2024. (Decrease by 4% by June 30, 2027) The Carlsbad Community Coalition’s STOP Act Grant will be carried out in the City of Carlsbad and south Eddy County and is estimated to reach 500 youth annually (2,000 over the four years) through presentations and education sessions, and annual youth-led events to reach at least 400 youth annually (1,600 over the four years). Media messages and campaigns are expected to reach 60,000 people annually to raise awareness of the costs and consequences of underage drinking and reinforce healthy norms. In addition to the goals listed above, this project will enhance intergovernmental cooperation on the issue of underage drinking; increase citizen participation and commitment to reduce alcohol use among youth; and disseminate timely information to the community regarding substance use data, emerging trends, and current initiatives to address those needs through a variety of methods.

The Paterson (NJ)/Montclair State University Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP-Act) Initiative seeks to develop and coordinate comprehensive, data-driven strategies focused on preventing alcohol misuse among underserved Hispanic/Latinx and Black/African American youth (age 12-17) and young adults (age 18-20) in the city of Paterson, New Jersey, which is an economically disadvantaged and resource-poor urban community. This initiative intends to serve approximately 400 youth and young adults annually with a four-year goal of serving about 1,600 unduplicated urban minority adolescents and young adults. The goals of the STOP-Act Grant program will be met by (1) Increasing the capacity of the Paterson Coalition Against Substance Abuse (P-CASA) to engage in evidence-based prevention activities that will reduce alcohol use/misuse among underserved, urban minority adolescents (age 12-17) and young adults (age 18-20) in Paterson, NJ; (2) Decreasing the incidence of alcohol misuse among racial and ethnic minority adolescents and young adults throughout Paterson’s 1st and 4th Wards; and (3) Increasing equitable access to alcohol prevention and treatment services, mental health programs, and community resources to reduce behavioral health disparities among our target population. Measurable objectives to meet the goals mentioned above include: (1a) P-CASA will utilize its infrastructure to grow the Youth Leadership Council (YLC) by 50% (adding 10 members) and add three mental health practitioners to our Coalition by Yr. 2.; and (1b) Increase program/site partners for the STOP-Act Grant by 10% for each project year; (2) Increase participation, shared decision-making, and advocacy among YLC by 10% annually; (3) By Yr. 3, P-CASA will train 50% of liquor license holders on both the Paterson Beverage Education Seminar (PABES) and Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPS), addressing the service, sale, and consumption of alcohol; (4) By the end of Yr. 4, P-CASA will implement two awareness campaigns to strengthen and reinforce previously passed ordinances focused on alcohol misuse, targeting approximately 2,000 Paterson residents (1st and 4th Wards); (5) By Yr. 1, P-CASA will increase students’ participation by 20% in evidence-based alcohol prevention education initiatives at our partnering schools in the 1st and 4th Wards (80% increase by the end of Yr. 4); (6a) Reduce past 30-day alcohol use among program participants by 5% each project year (20% by the end of Yr. 4); (6b) Increase perception of risk or harm of alcohol use among program participants by 5% each project year (20% by the end of Yr. 4); (6c) Increase perception of parental disapproval of alcohol use among program participants by 5% each project year (20% by the end of Yr. 4); (6d) Increase perception of peer disapproval of alcohol use among program participants by 5% each project year (20% by the end of Yr. 4); (7) By the end of Yr. 4, P-CASA will collaborate with its community partners to identify youth and young adults in need of linkages to behavioral health programs (e.g., alcohol prevention and treatment and mental health services) and referrals to community resources (reaching 75-100 youth and young adults annually); and (8) By the end of Yr. 4., the YLC and the behavioral health arm of P-CASA will work together to implement awareness campaigns (4 in total) addressing the link between alcohol use and mental health, targeting 2,500 youth and young adults, and their parents/caregivers (1st and 4th Wards) annually. This project will be rigorously evaluated to assess process and outcome variables at different levels of analysis. Also, intensive efforts will be implemented at the inception of the project to plan and develop sustainability activities that will contribute to the permanent expansion of comprehensive alcohol misuse prevention programs with the ultimate goal of decreasing underage drinking and mitigating behavioral health disparities in Paterson.

The Long Beach Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking, Inc. (Coalition) is a former Drug Free Communities (DFC) and Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) recipient and the fiscal agent for the Oceanside SAFE Coalition (SAFE). The Coalition serves five communities on the south shore of Long Island, New York, that are served by the Long Beach School District. The communities include: City of Long Beach, village of Island Park and hamlets of East Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach and Point Lookout. The communities had a total population of approximately 44,250 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. These communities, which comprise the catchment area for this S.T.O.P. Act Grant request, were devastated by Superstorm Sandy’s landing on October 29, 2012 and further traumatized by community-wide closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coalition, which had been making significant strides in reducing underage drinking, saw past 30-day alcohol use and binge drinking rates rise dramatically on the 2014-15 survey. Our most recent (2018-19) data reveals alcohol past 30-day usage at 20% for 9th graders and 40.4% for 11th graders. Binge drinking rates were 11% for 9th graders and 25.4% for 11th graders with binge drinking rates for girls increasing by approximately 15%. The Coalition is proposing to use S.T.O.P. Act Grant funds to implement environmental prevention strategies to reduce youth alcohol use. Specifically, the funds will be used to increase the number of law enforcement foot and party patrols and compliance checks during times of known youth usage (e.g. holidays, summer). Funds will be used to provide targeted prevention messages and programs to underserved populations of low-income African-American and Hispanic youth, especially in the North Park neighborhood, that are vulnerable to health disparities. The Coalition will used Trauma informed strategies, especially necessary in the post-pandemic era, in its prevention efforts and will invite members of the recovery community to participate in prevention activities.

Project Abstract Summary Description North Rockland Coalition for Drug Awareness Prevention with Community Synergy as the fiscal agent is applying for The Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act Grant for funding in the amount of $60,000 per year for four years. The Coalition serves the towns/villages of Haverstraw, Stony Point, Garnerville, Thiells, and West Haverstraw, New York, a community of approximately 50,000. The goals of the coalition are to establish and strengthen community collaboration in support of local efforts to prevent youth substance use. The coalition will achieve its goals by implementing these strategies: increasing coalition participation; educating alcohol vendors and recognizing their positive commitment to compliance; promoting the enforcement of environmental policies to limit the access of alcohol to underage youth; advocating for change in law enforcement and practices related to alcohol use violations; providing training on alcohol poisoning use, signs and symptoms for teachers, parents, and other professionals working with youth; hosting events that educate the community about the health, social, and legal consequences of alcohol use among youth; and implementing environmental strategies related to alcohol use. The award of the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Grant will enhance the success of the North Rockland Coalition for Drug Awareness Prevention Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant that was awarded in 2018 by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in cooperation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Now in its fifth year of DFC funding, funding from the STOP-ACT grant will enable the Coalition to expand its reach and focus on underage drinking within the community. Specific goals will include a focus on expanding participation in and awareness of the Coalition, closing the gaps between the perceptions around, and the reality of, underage drinking; enhancing inter-governmental cooperation and communicating and enforcing consequences related to selling alcohol to minors; continued work toward increasing peer disapproval toward alcohol usage. We will utilize the outcomes of the PRIDE survey 2020 taken by students in grades 8, 11 and 12, which provide insight as to perceptions of drug and alcohol use among themselves and their peers, as well as individual use over the past year. Additionally, we will incorporate the findings of the coalition developed parent survey (2022), which reflects the attitudes and perceptions of parents around the use of alcohol by their child and their child’s peers. Additional statistics from our two police department partners will provide information around DWI arrests within these communities. Through increased and enhanced efforts of the work currently in place, and the additional work proposed that necessitates additional funding, NRC-DAP will be poised to increase awareness of parents, youth, vendors and community leaders to this ongoing problem, and show measurable reductions in youth acceptance of underage drinking.