Van Buren County IPFS Project Update

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 fifth year of this five year grant on September 30, 2018.  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 this final year of the IPFS Project the coalition is continuing to build capacity, build 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 write, adopt, and implement alcohol policies focused on the Best Practices for Alcohol Service at their location.  During this year the coalition members will continue to work with three of the ten facilities in Van Buren County to encourage implementation of alcohol restrictions policies.  One facility is in the process of writing their new policy.  Four of the ten facilities have already adopted and implemented new written alcohol restriction policies since 2016.  The coalition would recommend that all facilities in the county put into place a written alcohol restriction policy.  The coalition will also be working with local law enforcement to provide training on how to enforce these new policies. 

2) Alcohol Restrictions in Public Places: The coalition is working with the towns in Van Buren County to help them write, adopt, and implement alcohol policies focused on the Best Practices for Alcohol Service in Public Places.  Currently, one town has a “no alcohol allowed" policy for their baseball park and will be hanging signs at the baseball park that state no alcohol allowed on the premises.  One town is allowing the coalition to participate in a community event planning committee that will set policy for their community events and is considering an alcohol restriction policy.  One town is considering establishing and implementing a best practices alcohol restriction policy for their community park by the end of September 2019.  Another town, in collaboration with the coalition, is working on implementing a no alcohol allowed policy for their new sports complex and baseball fields. The coalition is interested in working with all of the towns in Van Buren County on how best to implement policies to make sure alcohol is being served safely during community events.  The coalition will also be working with local law enforcement to provide officers with training on how to enforce these new ordinances. 

3) Substance Abuse Prevention Programs for Youth: The coalition has worked with the Van Buren Community School District to implement the Botvin Life Skills Training Program in the 7th and 8th grades since the 2016-17 school year.  This addresses substance abuse and violence prevention. It is a comprehensive, dynamic, and developmentally designed program to promote positive youth development. In addition to helping kids resist drug, alcohol, and tobacco use, the program also effectively supports the reduction of violence and other high-risk behaviors.  So far in the 2018-19 school year 97% of the 7th-grade students have completed the Level I Life Skills Curriculum.  Also, the first two groups of 8th-grade students have completed the Level II Curriculum and the third group has begun the curriculum.    

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 at local libraries; on the SAFE Coalition’s Facebook pages, Website, and Blog; on the Billboard in Keosauqua; and posters and electronic billboard ads at the Van Buren Community Middle/High School. During the summer of 2019 the coalition plans to have the campaign displayed in poster form at convenience stores, the Keosauqua Pool, Local Baseball Parks, and at Lacey Keosauqua State Park.  During this school year the Youth Leadership Council members have helped by placing the media campaign ads on their personal social media accounts to reach their peers with the message.  The coalition will continue to work with local media outlets to ensure youth are exposed to the media campaign. 

5) Social Host Ordinance: A Social Host Ordinance addresses the problem of people knowingly providing a place for underage drinking to happen.  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.  Coalition members are attending community meetings to help educate community members about the ordinance, about 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.

For more information on the SAFE Coalition or the IPFS Project please contact the coalition at 319-293-3334 ext. 1017 or by email at safe.coalition@van-burencsd.org.