Wednesday, February 4, 2009 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council received a $14,000 grant from a state agency and plans to use part of the funds to instruct law enforcement and community members methods for breaking up parties.

Recent reports of teenage drinking parties in local communities highlight the need for an increased focus of prevention efforts on the common sources of alcohol for underage youth. Data reveal that 75 percent of alcohol consumed by underage drinkers comes from “social” sources —parties, friends or home. The grant money will assist police and local communities to address these more common “social” sources of alcohol for underage youth.

Part of the grant will be dedicated to controlled party dispersal training for law enforcement and interested community members. The training will provide proactive approaches that can help to prevent underage drinking parties before they start and safely disperse them when they do occur, minimizing the potential for tragedy. It will include several hours of instruction followed by a mock party dispersal in which attendees apply what they have just learned.

Over the past decade, several Saratoga County communities have worked with The Prevention Council to form coalitions to reduce and prevent underage drinking and other drug use. Coalition members who attend the training will perform non-law enforcement roles in party dispersals such as contacting parents to pick up youth who have been drinking.

The remaining funds will be used by The Prevention Council to address retail sources of alcohol for youth by increasing the number of compliance checks of bars, restaurants and stores; providing a regular schedule of Training in Intervention Procedures (TIPS) to help retail workers identify fake IDs; and recognizing retailers by giving “unstung heroes” awards to those who pass the compliance checks.

The Prevention Council was one of 14 agencies selected from 30 applicants statewide to receive the “Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws” grant from the NYS Office on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS).