The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition was awarded the Iowa Partnership for
Success (IPFS) Grant in February, 2015 to address underage drinking and
underage binge drinking in Van Buren County.
The coalition began the fourth year of this five year grant on September
30, 2017. The Van Buren County SAFE
Coalition’s IPFS project is funded by the Iowa Department of Public Health
(IDPH), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
During the 2017-18 Fiscal Year the coalition is continuing to build
capacity & sustainability, evaluate the work being done, and implement the
five strategies it was funded to work on as follows:
1) Alcohol Restrictions at Community Events at Privately Owned
Facilities: The coalition is working with privately owned facilities to help
them implement alcohol policies focused on the Best Practices for Alcohol
Service at their location. During the
2016-17 Fiscal Year four facilities established or continued with their “No
Alcohol Allowed” policies (two of these are verbal only policies); the
coalition worked with two other facilities to develop written Alcohol
Restriction Policies and were in contact with three other facilities about
whether or not they would like to develop policies for their facilities. During the 2017-18 Fiscal Year the coalition
members have continued to work with five facilities that are open to a new
written policy and are meeting with two new facilities who may be interested in
a written policy. The coalition has
heard from two of the seven facilities that they are not interested in written
policies. One has a verbal no alcohol
allowed policy and one does not want a policy at this time. Another facility implemented a formal no
alcohol allowed policy for part of the facility and a formal alcohol
restrictions policy for the other part of the facility. The coalition will continue to work with the
four facilities who are or may be interested in establishing alcohol
policies.
2) Alcohol Restrictions in Public Places: During the 2016-17 Fiscal
Year the coalition researched what alcohol restriction policies are being
followed in each town and in the county.
Coalition members visited with each city council in July to present them
with information on policies they could use that would address the availability
of alcohol to youth in public places, such as public parks and community ball
fields. Coalition members again visited
with the city councils in January and March to find out if they are interested
in implementing Alcohol Restriction Policies for their public places. Four towns
have now stated that they are not interested in implementing Alcohol
Restriction Ordinances at this time. Another
town believes that they do have written policies for their Ball Park and City Park
and are checking into that. One town is
allowing the coalition to participate in a community event planning committee
that will set policy for their community events and may allow a policy through
this committee. One town is still
willing to discuss the possibility of a policy during a work session. The coalition is now working to find ways to
work with the towns that have said they are not interested in ordinances.
3) Substance Abuse Prevention Programs for Youth: The coalition is
working with the Van Buren Community School District to implement the Botvin
Life Skills Training Program in the 7th and 8th grades. During the 2016-17 school year the 7th and
8th grade students all completed Level I of the curriculum. During the 2017-18 school year all of the 7th
grade students completed Level I of the curriculum and all but one of the 8th
grade students completed Level II as the curriculum builds on the information
provided each year. The 8th grade students were also able to complete an
additional module that addressed prescription drug safety with the help of the
Jefferson, Keokuk, Van Buren, and Washington Decategorization Board (Decat
Board). For the 2018-19 school year the curriculum will be taught by a
different teacher so, the coalition and school district with the help of the Decat
Board are making sure the teacher is trained and ready for the new school year
to implement the Life Skills program.
4) Underage Drinking Prevention Media Campaign: The coalition has
worked with local media outlets to implement IDPH’s “What Do You Throw Away”
underage drinking prevention media campaign.
It is currently displayed on posters in the Van Buren County Hospital
& Clinics; posters and screensavers at local libraries; and posters,
electronic billboard ads, and computer backgrounds at the Van Buren Community
Middle/High School. During the summer of 2017 the campaign was also displayed
in poster form at local convenience stores, the Keosauqua Pool, and at Lacey
Keosauqua State Park. The coalition
members are currently working with local outlets again to have the posters displayed
for youth to see during the summer of 2018.
5) Social Host Ordinance: A Social Host Ordinance addresses the problem
of adults knowingly providing a place for an underage drinking party. The coalition currently is working to educate
community members and government officials on why this ordinance would be
helpful in Van Buren County and to build support for the ordinance. The coalition hosted one community
conversation on June 7, 2018 to help educate community members about the
ordinance, how to approach local government officials to encourage support for
the ordinance and to allow for discussion on the need for such policies in Van
Buren County. The coalition will be
hosting two additional community conversations on July 12, 2018 at 12:00 pm and
August 8, 2018 at 6:00 pm at the Great Day Café.
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