The BAY Team

2014 Coalition in Focus Award Application

Kristen Westmoreland, Project Manager

283 County Road Barrington, RI 02806

Tel: 401-247-1900

kwestmoreland@barrington.ri.gov

History The BAY Team (Barrington Adult/Youth Team) formed in

1987 through RI state legislation and funding 1987 to 2003: a part time director and 3-5 volunteers focused

on providing substance-free activities 2003-2008: a full time director, expanded to 25 members Since DFC funding in 2008, and a number of tragedies

involving underage substance use, the coalition has achieved significant policy and community changes

Now supported by local, state, federal, and individual funding

Our Mission

To promote

a safe and healthy community through

collaboration and communication with a goal of

preventing and reducing

substance abuse

Our CommunitySuburban community of 16,455Over 95% whiteMedian income $75,000High School serves 1129 students

“Barrington is a very beautiful coastal town, but the affluence creates a sense of entitlement and is a risk factor for youth substance use, especially teen

drinking.”

We’ve Got Outcomes! High school (grades 9-12) alcohol use down 30% Middle school (grades 6-8) alcohol use down 50%

How did we get here? By addressing local conditions found here in

Barrington Each strategy we employ at the local level leads to

changes in root causes of behavior As we change the root causes, we address the big

problem

Examples, please…

Local conditions are things like:– Our youth purchase alcohol in stores because servers

aren’t checking id from all young-looking customers– Our parents are allowing youth to drink at their homes

because they think teens are safe there

Root Causes are things like:– Youth have retail access to alcohol through bars and

liquor stores– Youth see drinking as the normal behavior for high

school students

How does it work?

Collect data from different sources for each local condition, root cause, and problem

Design interventions that will change the data for the better

Local conditions yield short term outcomes Root causes yield intermediate outcomes Ultimately, we improve the problem = fewer youth in

Barrington drink alcohol

Short-term outcomes - Retail Access Youth drink in bars and clubs with parent permission RC1LC3: In

2012, 30% of retailers told us parents had pressured them to serve youth in their establishments. In 2013, 10%, and in 2014, 0% say this is happening

Youth are able to purchase in retail outlets without showing proper id RC1LC1: More servers and managers say they will check id after attending our trainings, and more now say they do it prior to training than they did in 2011 – 95% now always ask for id from younger patrons

Short-term outcomes – Social Access Large groups of youth drink in unsupervised outdoor locations

RC2LC1: Police report an 80% decrease in large outdoor underage drinking parties from 2005-2013. Recent parties involve, on average, only 3-5 minors as opposed to 100+ in prior years

Youth obtain and drink in homes where parents are away or out for the evening RC2 LC2: Fewer students are reporting drinking in homes– On Student Survey (Grades 6-12) (SS), we ask: Where did you drink alcoholic

beverage(s) the last time you drank? (Responses are from only those who drank in past 30 days and include, “I drank at my home” and “I drank at someone else’s home”)

Short-term outcomes – Social Access Youth drink in homes where parents are present and think teens are

safe drinking there RC2LC3: Students who don’t drink at all consistently report high levels of

perceived parental disapproval for drinking More students who occasionally drink, believe parents feel it is very

wrong for the teen to drink alcohol– On SS we ask, How wrong do your parents feel it would be for you to have one or

two drinks of alcoholic beverage nearly every day?

Short term outcomes – Youth see drinking as the norm

Youth come drunk to school dances because HS unable to detect/penalize for intoxication RC3LC1: No more students are suspended for being drunk at school dances since the mandatory breathalyzer policy enacted in 2009– 2008 10 per year– 2012 1 per year (passed breathalyzer on entry;

smuggled alcohol into the dance; then breathalyzed again and failed)

– 2013 0 per year

Short term outcomes – Youth see drinking as the norm Youth see lack of strong prevention messaging from teachers as

condoning underage drinking and supportive of the (mis)perception that most students are going to drink no matter what RC3LC2: Thanks to our social norms campaign, Shatter the Illusion, fewer teachers now are under the misperception that most or nearly all students drink

Short term outcomes – Youth see drinking as the norm

Youth see many upper classmen, especially popular athletes, drink and perceive it to be a normative behavior RC3LC3: Students in grades 10-12 are drinking on many fewer occasions per month now then in previous years

Intermediate Outcomes – Access More students are finding alcohol very hard to get

– On SS, we ask, If you wanted to get some beer, wine, or hard liquor, how easy would it be for you to get some? (Responses from those in grades 6-12 who said it would be very hard)

– 8th grade: 24% (2009), 36% (2011), 39% (2013)– 10th grade: 15% (2009), 15% (2011), 24% (2013)– 11th grade: 11% (2009), 13% (2011), 17% (2013)

Intermediate Outcomes – Social Access Fewer students are getting alcohol from a non-retail source

– On SS, we ask, How did you get the last alcoholic beverage you drank? (Responses from all answers that did not include buying it, ie. I took it from home, a family member gave it to me, it was available at a party) *Note responses are from only those students grades 6-12 who drank in past 30 days. Results by grade are unavailable due to low number of responses in some grades

Intermediate Outcomes – Youth see drinking as the norm

Fewer high school students believe (incorrectly) that most to nearly all high school students drink alcohol– On SS, we ask, How many students at Barrington High school do you think drink

alcohol? (Responses from those in grades 9-12 who said, "most” or “nearly all”)– Note: our alcohol social norms campaign took place in 2010 and this data was

collected pre- and post-campaign and is not available for a third year.

Intermediate Outcomes – Youth see drinking as the norm

We Shattered the Illusion in all grades!– Our student-led social norms campaign successfully helped all grades realign the

perception of the number of students drinking alcohol

Intermediate Outcomes – Youth see drinking as the norm

Fewer students intend to drink alcohol in the next 2 years– Middle School (6th-8th): 6% in 2009, 4% in 2010, 4% in 2013– High School (9th-12th): 46% in 2009, 45% in 2010, 40% in 2013– On SS, we ask, Sometimes we do not know what we will do in the future, but we

may have an idea. Please tell me…in the next two years do you plan to drink beer, wine, or liquor? (Responses from those in grades 9-12 who said, "yes” or “YES!”)

Long-term Outcomes – Alcohol Use by school

High school (Grades 9-12) alcohol use down 30% Middle school (Grades 6-8) alcohol use down 50% On SS, we ask, On how many occasions (if any) have you had alcoholic

beverages (beer, wine, liquor) to drink – more than just a few sips – during the past 30 days? (“Past 30-day use” represents responses other than 0 occasions)

Long Term Outcomes – Alcohol use by grade Biggest decreases seen in grades 6-10 Upper grades decreased over the past 2 years as students who have

been exposed to greater prevention strategies age into the high school. The prevention curriculum and DFC funding began in 2008 – classes

who, in 2013, were in grade 10 and lower have received the full curriculum in addition to other DFC-supported strategies.

How do we decide on what to focus ? Needs assessments, key stakeholder interviews help us

identify the problem Several teen deaths from alcohol and the branding of

Barrington by the press as a town with an underage drinking problem created a sense of urgency

Monthly coalition meetings and committee meetings to discuss specific interventions and the data needed

Yearly member retreats for strategic planning Data collected where needed via surveys, listening and

focus groups, and from community sources such as Student Assistance and Police

Staff maintain up to date logic models, action plans, and budgets and update frequently with input from members and committees

How do we stay focused on and aware of the community needs?

Collaborate with other town organizations and local universities such as Brown and Roger Williams

Work with students on committees, as mentors, and recruit them as volunteers

Use every meeting as an opportunity to gather input and to hear what is happening in the community

Regular meetings with police to hear what they are seeing in the community

Organize listening sessions and focus groups Regular listening groups conducted by Student Assistance

Counselors

Problem Analysis OverviewProblem Root Cause Local ConditionProblem #1: Too many Barrington youth use alcohol.

Root Cause #1: Youth have retail access to alcohol   

Local Condition #1: Youth are able to purchase alcohol in retail outlets without proper identification

Local Condition #2: 21+ year olds are purchasing alcohol in liquor stores to sell to underage friends

Local Condition #3: Youth drink in bars/clubs with parent permission; because there is confusion over RI law which exempts minors who consume alcohol provided by a parent within a home, for, say, religious purposes

Root Cause #2: Youth have social access to alcohol

Local Condition #1: Large groups of youth gather to drink alcohol in outdoor, unsupervised places such as beaches and parksLocal Condition #2: Youth obtain and drink alcohol in homes where parents are away or out for the eveningLocal Condition #3: Youth drink alcohol in homes where parents are present and think teens are safe drinking there

Root Cause #3: Youth see drinking as the norm for high school students

Local Condition #1: Youth come drunk to school dances because HS unable to easily detect and penalize for intoxicationLocal Condition #2: Youth see lack of strong prevention messaging from teachers/coaches as condoning of underage drinking and supportive of the (mis)perception that most students are going to drink no matter what anyone says or doesLocal Condition #3: Youth see many upperclassmen, especially popular athletes, drink and perceive it to be a normative behavior

Logic Model SnapshotProblem #1: Too many Barrington Youth Use alcoholData 1: 37% of BHS (9-12) students report past 30 day alcohol use (2007 SS) Data 2: 6% of BMS (6-8) students report past 30 day alcohol use (2007 SS)

Root Cause #1: Youth have retail access to alcoholData 1: 9% of students who drink had their last drink in a retail establishment (2009 SS) Data 2: 7% of students who drink bought their last drink themselves (2009 SS)Data 3: 28% of students say alcohol is very hard to get (2009 SS)

Local condition #1: Youth are able to purchase alcohol in retail outlets without showing proper identification Data 1: 82% of alcohol servers/managers always check id from patrons who look 21-25 years old (2011 BLT) Data 2: 10% of retailers failed decoy compliance checks (2007 Police Data)

Strategies/Intervention SnapshotStrategy Category Intervention Description

Provide information Best practices (individual)

Liquor licensees are given national data and resources on best practices for retail outlets.

Reduce barriers/enhance

access

Videotaped liquor trainings(environmental)

Videotaped trainings allow newly hired staff to view the required training at their convenience, prior to serving/selling alcohol in town.

Change consequence

Compliance Checks

(environmental)

Police and Policy Committee expanded compliance checks from 1 to 3 times a year and check training certification (local and state) in addition to having a minor decoy attempt to purchase.

Change physical design

ID Scanners(environmental)

Staff, youth, parents, police worked with Town Council to create a list of preferred practices for liquor stores, including id scanners, which all stores now have at point of purchase.

Change Policy Required local liquor training

(environmental)

The Policy Committee helped pass a local ordinance mandating annual training of all liquor servers, sellers, management, and owners.

Community Engagement:Thanks, Chief LaCross

Helped write and enact local ordinances Presenter at annual alcohol server training Serves on Policy Committee Encourages detectives to visit all liquor establishments to

get to know staff, owners, and management and explain laws and ordinances

Helped establish our first municipal court and works with judge to get fines levied on liquor licensees and individuals to be directed to the coalition to sustain annual trainings

Allows new hires of retail establishments to view training videotape at the police station and has taken on the administrative duties of this strategy.

Community Engagement:Parents and Policy

Claudia Gordon – a parent who is passionate about liquor policy and has chaired our Policy Committee for 5 years and helps administer the annual liquor training

Sara Kriz - a parent and graphic designer who donates her time to develop our policy briefs, informational brochures, and newsletters.

Diane Block - A doctor of public policy who presents at our alcohol server trainings and helps guide our policy decisions on the Policy Committee

Dan Converse – parent and father of Jon, who, at age16, was killed in 2007 in an alcohol-related car crash. Dan makes numerous presentations, locally and statewide and has been the subject of many public service announcements created by members and students. He is our inspiration.

The BAY Team is an essential part of the community

With no statewide student data collection, our student surveys provide essential information to town and schools. We are also the only coalition in RI to collect data from parents and faculty.

We are the only organization in town that links such a wide variety of other groups such as senior citizens, preschools, recreation leagues, businesses, and the faith community

We also collaborate outside of our community with other coalitions, state organizations such as MADD, the RI Attorney General, a statewide coalition of DFC grantees, and lawmakers

Our data and programs are recognized by the state and nationally as successful and innovative!

Next Steps…

We are working towards sustainability and even bigger outcomes! – Alternate funding sources– Leadership training for all volunteers– Mentoring opportunities with other coalitions– Marketing reproducible programs to other coalitions– Reaching parents of younger children to develop “Prevention

loyalty” and prevent/delay initiation in children to bring larger decreases in use for 11th and 12th grade students in the future

– Incorporating more health and wellness issues to broaden the reach of prevention