MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN UNDERAGE DRINKING IN WICOMICO COUNTY

(Salisbury, MD) – Do you want to make a difference in underage drinking in Wicomico County? If you do, then you need to be part of the Wicomico County Strategic Prevention Framework Planning Group. The purpose of this framework is to reduce the misuse of alcohol by youth and young adults in Maryland, as measured by the following indicators: Reduce the number of youth, ages 12-20, reporting past month alcohol use; Reduce the number of young persons, ages 18-25, reporting past month binge drinking; Reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes involving youth ages 16-25.

The Wicomico County Health Department and Drug Free Wicomico Coalition will mobilize and convene a diverse county level Wicomico County Strategic Prevention Framework planning group comprising local policy makers, stakeholders, prevention, treatment and youth development advocates, community members, organization leaders, youth, etc. to:

Review jurisdictional and community level data to document the nature and extent of underage drinking, youth binge drinking and alcohol-related crashes in the jurisdiction; Identify and assess the underlying causes/contributors to underage drinking, youth binge drinking, and alcohol-related crashes in the jurisdiction; Conduct a jurisdiction-wide resource assessment to identify existing assets, programs, coalitions, community groups, etc. that are currently addressing substance use and consequence-related issues in the jurisdiction; Use the findings from the assessment activities above to identify communities with high prevalence of underage drinking, youth binge drinking, and/or alcohol-related crashes;

Communities with a high level of readiness to reduce substance use and consequences through implementation of the Maryland Strategic Prevention Framework process; Select a community with both a high prevalence of underage drinking, youth binge drinking, and/or alcohol-related crashes and a high level of readiness to implement the Wicomico County Strategic Prevention Framework process; and Develop the jurisdiction’s Wicomico County Strategic Prevention Framework Jurisdiction-Wide Assessment Final Report for submission to Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration. This report will serve as the jurisdiction’s request for competitive Maryland Strategic Prevention Framework Community Implementation Grant funding on behalf of the selected community.

Meetings begin in January 2011. For additional information, contact Cindy Shifler at (410) 219-7544.