Thursday, May 21, 2009
Spring Meeting Notes 2009
Stephanie Willis, CHCCS, commended the presenters and organizers for all of the Parent Forums. Her office has received good feedback and calls for information. Two different Task Forces have been merged and new plans are in the works for more parent education programs. The NC ABC Board and Safe and Drug Free Schools continue to fund the alcohol awareness campaigns. Changes are expected because they are not getting through to every student. She feels that the Youth Risk Behavior Survey is being taken more seriously by the students. Plans are to increase the "Social Norming" efforts. Jackie Reid, the Student Assistance Counselor has been working with parents that are challanged with kids that are using. Student Resource Officers and representatives from both police departments have been meeting to keep consistency in the laws and rules shared between the schools. Policies may soon differ due to cuts in government funds, which could mean having to use outsourced programs for affected teens. One campus has seen an increase in violations which will require more surveillance. Pill usage is becoming a bigger problem. Dale spoke about launching a campaign to influence parents to lock up not only alcohol, but their drugs as well. Robin mentioned the "Operation: Medicine Cabinet". Stephanie continued about how laws need to be changed to curb the over perscribing of medications by doctors. The awareness efforts may have to be focusing more on the Middle Schools. Pam Diggs was mentioned for her involvement in the Tobacco Reality Unfiltered.
Colleen Hughes, Center for Prevention Resources spoke about the Unlimited Success program. She is currently working in prevention, stated that 20% of adolescents have tried prescription drugs and that overdoses are the second leading cause of teen deaths.
Billie J. Guthrie, Community Backyard talked about Reclaimimg Futures which is a six step model for changing the way we look at the juvenile justice system, getting teens to treatment and dealing with law violations. She also reviewed the many things the Community Backyard is involved in.
Chapel Hill Police Lt. Pat Burns reported that the Alcohol Response Team had attended a forum in Nashville that was very beneficial to all those that attended. The response team, which began in February 2009, consists of many officers from both Chapel Hill and Carrboro Police Departments who are trained and identified to be part of this task force. They patrol parties, verify bar compliances and while monitoring over-servicing, check keg control, issue violations and revisit recurring situations. They can form teams of officers on quick notice and have been very efficient. Dale interjected and commended Pat, the officers involved and the ALE. She would like to get the UNC Campus Police involved.
Dean Blackburn, Assistant Dean of Students, Community Relations also thanked the officers and other resources. He talked about the student interventions being motivators for the recidivism rates increasing. He also spoke about how Carpe Diem has positive feedback from students and is causing decreases in alcohol use. Matt Sullivan has been helpful in explaining law requirements. Surveys from the students involved reflect that 94% have decreasing alcohol use. Jenny Levering, Assistant Dean of Students, Fraternity & Sorority Life also commended the CHPD. She stated that the students have been responsive to their efforts. They have been focusing on better controls during campus celebration times (NCAA Championship, Halloween, etc.) by lessening open party activity.
Some of the other officiers spoke for Matt Sullivan about the trends in pill usage increasing and the simplicity of obtaining pharmicuticals through the internet. Also, that alcohol larceny is on the rise. Moreover, the calls that are answered for loud music and parties usually turn out to be a mix of colledge and high school students.
Joseph M. Buckner, Chief District Court Judge, Orange County spoke about his 35 years in Chapel Hill and the surrounding communities. He is familiar with the bad outcomes and that the majority of violations result in deferred prosecution. He put in a plug for the upcoming 4th Annual Unity Day at the Hargraves Center on June 29th. He spoke about the plans Gov. Perdue has to reduce funding for drug court. He spoke about North Orange County having a high truancy rate and mentioned that parents are being sited for not getting their kids to school. He feels that multiple programs helping at multiple levels is "all good" and eventually will help make a difference.
Bill from CHHS spoke about the schools budget issues affecting the Student Assistance Programs and distribution of parent information. July 3rd is the next chance to lobby the school board. There was mention of the e-mail that Steve Scgoggs sent to parents about usage and activity on campus.
A representative from the OJJDP came to get interest in the upcoming 11th Annual UDETC Leadership Conference. Please visit www.udetc.org for more information.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Community Coalition Meeting
of Chapel Hill & Carrboro
invites you attend our Spring lunch meeting on:
Thursday, May 21st at 12:00pm.
This meeting is an opportunity to report out to the community about the many exciting and promising Coalition initiatives, as well as to hear from you as to concerns, celebrations or needs. Please let me know if you personally or your agency would like to make an announcement.
A "complimentary lunch" will be provided. Please kindly RSVP by Monday May 18th if you plan to attend this meeting so we can be sure to have enough food on hand.
Location: Squid's Restaurant, 1201 15-501 Hwy Bypass, Chapel Hill, 942-8757 This meeting open to the public. Please forward this invite to others who might like to attend.
I look forward to seeing you soon!
Dale Pratt-Wilson, Director
The Coalition for Alcohol & Drug Free Teenagers
of Chapel Hill and Carrboro
www.chccoalition.org
Friday, January 30, 2009
PTSA Parent Forum
5th Annual PTSA Parent Forum presents:
Should We Drink With Our Teens?
Answer A: “Yes. I want to teach them to be responsible drinkers.”
Answer B: “No. One drink is too much.”
Which answer is correct? A or B?
Which do you practice in your home?
Come and join us to hear from our panel of experts.
You will learn about the latest research and data on teenage drinking, brain development, lowering the drinking age (Amethyst Initiative), the “European Approach”, family counseling, the law in North Carolina.
The evening will consist of one hour of expert panelist presentations followed by one hour of questions and answers. This event is co-sponsored by the High School PTSA organizations of Carrboro, East Chapel Hill,
and Chapel Hill and is free and open to the public.
Date: Wednesday, February 4th at 7PM
Place: East Chapel Hill High School’s Auditorium
PANEL MEMBERS
Dean Blackburn, MA, Assistant Dean of Students and Community Relations at UNC-Chapel Hill. Mr. Blackburn will discuss current campus culture and university concerns regarding underage drinking.
Michael Eisen, MA, LPC - State Coordinator - NC Preventing Underage Drinking Initiative/NC Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Eisen will discuss the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 and the relationship between the minimum legal drinking age, alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems including current research about the “European Approach”.
Tina Lepage, PsyD, Lepage Associates Solution-Based Psychological Services, providing services to local adolescents, parents and families. Dr. Lepage will discuss the social and psychological dynamics of adolescent drinking and tips for parents on prevention.
Matt Sullivan, JD, MSW, Chapel Hill Police Department Crisis Counselor. Mr. Sullivan will concentrate on the criminal and civil liabilities of adult providers and underage consumers, and current teenage drinking
trends.
Aaron White, PhD, Health Science Administrator, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Dr. White will share his expert research on the effects of alcohol on the developing teenage brain.
Moderator: Art Belden, ECHHS PTSA President
For information contact
Carrboro High School: Katina Rogers, katinarogers@bellsouth.net
Chapel Hill High School: Martha Sheard Farley, msheardfarley@nc.rr.com
East Chapel Hill High School: Christian Gilbert, xtian12@aolcom, Karen Lewis, tokyokaren@yahoo.com
Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Free Teenagers of Chapel Hill and Carrboro: dalepratt-wilson@nc.rr.com
If you were unable to attend this year’s Parent Forum, you can access it in the following ways:
TV: Airing on The People's Channel (Channel 8 on Time Warner Cable) Thursday, March 19th and Thursday March 26th at 8:00pm
Webcast: http://chccsptsa.blip.tv
CD: A CD version is available for check-out at the library at each of the CHCCS high schools.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Fall Meeting Notes 2008
Stephanie Willis, Health Coordinator for the CHCCS, spoke about the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The results are a combination of the standard survey and a survey which includes questions involving attitudes, perceptions and behaviors. Chapel Hill Police participated in a forum which included Administrators, Student Resource Officers and Substance Abuse Staff about increasing awareness of prescription drug use. Efforts have been made to double up efforts and including canines in searches. Both the Drug and Alcohol Awareness Task Force (Carole Groux, Dale Prattt-Wilson and Robin Clark) and the District Substance Abuse Task Force are combining to discuss new additions to the school policy, development of new materials and looking for other ways to get awareness materials to students and families. One policy change that was discussed is that off-campus substance abuse will result in loss of campus parking and off-campus lunchtime privildges.
Eric Smith, UNC Wellness Services, thanked the CHPD for the control at the Halloween celebration. Eric is involved in the review of the policies and finding better ways of enforcing them. He spoke about core survey shows a large reduction in binge drinking. Also, there are more preemptive measures for incoming students. Wellness Services is involved in the development of strategies to help control drinking for at risk students. One of the developments is known as Environment Management for students, faculty and staff. This includes science based strategies, moving towards Social Norming, streamlining policies and enforcement, and one-on-one assessment.
Dan Sykes, Orange County ABC Board, read amounts and percentages of profits that have been donated for alcohol awareness and law enforcement. The strong ties with the CHPD, Carrboro PD and OC Sheriff to perform compliance checks. A vendor has been chosen to supply the I.D. Scanners and a few of the local ABC stores have them installed. Each store has an Education Center, which provides brochures and information on substance abuse. Warning messages about underage drinking are being printed on the bags. Staff is being educated and trained for the responsible service, sale, and consumption of alcohol. The state is analyzing the efficiency by which liquor is sold. A possible outcome of the evaluation is that liquor sales could be removed from current Alcohol Beverage Control operations and privatized for private businesses to control the sale of hard liquor. One of the major issues regarding the privatization of liquor sales was the impact upon revenues provided to local governments. According to NC House Bill 1292, a study was conducted of possible ABC store privatization results. The study was designed to analyze methods other states use to regulate alcohol distribution and discern the feasibility of partial privatization (the state privatizes the retail function but retains the wholesale function of liquor distribution) and full privatization (the state privatizes both the retail and wholesale functions of liquor distribution). Local ABC boards are concerned about the potential loss of revenue to local municipalities.
Carole Groux, CADFT explained the Safe Homes website and the intended use. Currently recruiting teens to raise awareness and to get families involved in making the promise that their home will not be subjected to underage drinkers.
Trish Halsey, Dir Carpe Diem, spoke about Carpe Diem, a Chapel Hill First Offenders Program for Alcohol Violations. This is a six-week, five-session program being run as a pilot. Each session is two hours in length with an average of 16 students. There will be outside assignments and a group community service project. Students will spend a total of 15 hours fulfilling the requirements of Carpe Diem. Groups will focus on risk reduction, stress management, alcohol and drug education, replacement behaviors, self-awareness and effective interpersonal skills. The group has been visited by speakers, such as Matt Sullivan, who spoke about current laws and how they are enforced. In phase II of the program, beginning in 09, more groups will be attending. For more information contact Trish at chapelhillfop@gmail.com or call (919) 240-5521. Also, Orange County offers Project Turn Around, for students 16 years or older.
Dale spoke about the Coalition funding from supporting organizations throughout the county. The Underage Drinking Research Initiative has made great strides in building more coalitions for supporting alcohol and drug free communities countrywide. The Alcohol Purchase Surveys are still being conducted and the results are being given to local law enforcement and ALE with a request for a full compliance check using an underage buyer.
The NC Institute of Medicine Task Force on Substance Abuse Services has an Interim Report to the NC General Assembly, as well as the presentation for the Implications for Adolescents by Pam Silberman, JD, DrPH. President & CEONC Institute of Mental Health.
Michael Eisen, NC Dept of MHDDSAS, announced that the NCIoMTF full report should be released in Jan 09. He spoke about the "Price vs. Use" or Usage Fees that help in saving costs to Public Health. He talked about the research being done on the Effects of Alcohol Tax Increases on Alcohol-Related Disease Mortality in Alaska: Time-Series Analyses from 1976 to 2004 done by Dr. Alexander C. Wagenaar in the Amer Jour of Public Health. The cost of underage drinking is estimated at $1.2 billion per year and increasing the tax could raise 80 million per year to support abuse programs. You can view information from the Institute of Medicine. Other links to visit are the Underage Drinking Education Training Center and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Karen Lewis (minutes missing)
Andrea Hussong, PhD UNC-CH, (minutes missing) is developing a Prevention Program for Young Children living in Alcoholic Families. For more info contact Andrea Hussong at hussong@unc.edu or call (919) 962-2537.
Linda Hammock (minutes missing)
Laura Wenzel, Pa'lante Director (minutes missing). Pa'lante events are posted at Radio Pa'lante 103.5. Click here to hear about their group.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Community Coalition Meeting
of Chapel Hill & Carrboro
invites you attend our Fall lunch meeting on:
Thursday, November 20th at 12:00pm.
This meeting is an opportunity to report out to the community about the many exciting and promising Coalition initiatives, as well as to hear from you as to concerns, celebrations or needs. Please let me know if you or your agency would like to report out or make an announcement.
A "complimentary lunch" will be provided. Please kindly RSVP by Saturday, November 15th if you plan to attend this meeting so we can be sure to have enough food on hand.
Location: Squid's Restaurant, 1201 15-501 Hwy Bypass, Chapel Hill, 942-8757 This meeting open to the public. Please forward this invite to others who might like to attend.
I look forward to seeing you soon!
Dale Pratt-Wilson, Director
Coalition for Alcohol & Drug Free Teenagers
of Chapel Hill and Carrboro
www.CHCcoalition.org
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Spring Meeting Notes 2008
Stephanie Willis, CHCCS, spoke about the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The results have been merged with the results from a more in-depth survey which was developed locally. The merged results are showing trends are decreasing. She thanked both Orange County ABC and Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools as contributors. Regina Probst was involved in OPC receiving funding for Drug Free NC. Pam Diggs was mentioned for her involvement in the Tobacco Reality Unfiltered.
Chapel Hill High School sponsored two mock car crashes the day before the school's prom. The community agencies who made the event happen include Chapel Hill Police, Chapel Hill Fire Department, Carrboro Police, Carrboro Fire Department, Orange County EMS, Orange County 911 Operations, Orange County Sheriff's department and NC ALE agents.
Matt Sullivan of the CHPD gave an update on the Parent Education Forums or "Reality Check". The goal of these events is to get information about drugs and alcohol to parents. Over 200 parents from the local middle and high schools attended the presentations. They also help form parent alliances. Matt also has shared the youth risk behavior survey at the CHPD in-services.
Drew Smith, Devel Dir at the Chapel Hill YMCA unveiled displays of plans for a new Youth Center. A capitol campaign has begun to raise 5 million to build a community place for after school programs. Focus groups have been formed to determine what types of things will be included. To mention a few, homework rooms, battle of the bands, freestyling, gymnasium, boomerang program, and much more. Jeff Lloyd, Asst Youth Dir, has had more success holding the Middle School Madness events. These nights include open basketball, having the aerobics room become a dance hall and making concessions available. For more information or to make a donation, contact Jerry Whortan, Exec Dir or Drew Smith, Devel Dir.
The Town of Chapel Hill’s Youth Council will accept applications through June 30 from high school students interested in joining. The youth council is a great way for students to meet their peers across the school district. Since its first meeting on Jan. 28 with 16 students, the youth council has grown to 24 students. Applicants must reside within the district of Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools, but they may be attending public, private, home school or charter school. The youth council currently meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Hargraves Center, 216 N. Roberson St. The purpose of the youth council is to familiarize and involve its members with the various departments of Town government, the Town Council and Mayor’s Office. Participants also are expected to become involved in community service projects. Through membership in the State Youth Advocacy Council, there are opportunities to attend workshops, conferences and retreats designed to enhance leadership, team building, and service learning skills. Applications and information is available online at townhall.townofchapelhill.org/parks_&_rec/youth_council or by contacting Liz Mason Carter at 968-2787 x 212 or mail her lcarter@townofchapelhill.org.
Judy, ABC Board, has been evaluating I.D. Scanners for the ABC stores. They have been having success with the number of brochures being taken and the underage drinking messages printed on the paper bags. ABC has also been applying for educational grants to help raise funds. She spoke about the TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) education and training for the responsible service, sale, and consumption of alcohol.
Laura Wenzel, Pa'lante Director, was involved in creating presentation on alcohol use and consequences. The presentation was shown several times at different places such as the Annual Health Fair at the UNC Hospital. There were surveys that were given before and after the presentation with good results. Pa'lante will host Nights of the Stars at the Carrboro Century Center on June 12th. This is an alcohol-free event. Radio Pa'lante broadcasted prom info about safe dating and setting boundaries. The teens were talking about not drinking as well.
Lauren Wilson, Agent of the Alcohol Law Enforcement, has been handing out violations and having the CHPD follow up on alcohol compliance checks.
Craig Lloyd, Executive Director MADD NC spoke about the many programs that are sponsored by MADD. Protecting You, Protecting Me, Road Ready Teens, Think MADD, For Your Child, Outside the Classroom, UMADD, Parent Resources, Youth Statistics, Laws in NC, Why 21, Media Resources, 3 Screen School Assembly programs and MADD Class Packs.
Dale spoke about the NHTSA Grant, the Roadside Survey performed by the UNC Highway Safety Research Center. More parents want Law Enforcement to pursue those providing alcohol to our youth more than searching for parties. She also nominated the CHPD for "Law Enforcement Partner of the Year", talked about the Cat's Cradle asking for volunteers to do breathalyzers for youth entering the establishment, the Alcohol Purchase Surveys to find if establishments are selling without asking for an ID, and thanked the CHPD once more for following up on doing compliance checks.
Michael Eisen, NC Dept of MHDDSAS, gave more kudos to the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Police for their involvement. He spoke about the "Tipping Point", where the community takes control from the vendors of the vice. For example, the impact that "Truth" had on cigarette sales. Take It Back is a national youth-directed movement to reduce alcohol problems. He mentioned environmental management strategies and the influence of the OJJDP. The Strategic Prevention Framework. The governors’ proposed budget includes increasing the alcohol tax to raise funds for substance abuse programs. The cost of underage drinking is estimated at $1.2 billion per year and increasing the tax could raise 80 million per year to support abuse programs. You can view information from the Institute of Medicine.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Community Coalition Meeting
of Chapel Hill & Carrboro
invites you attend our Spring lunch meeting on:
Thursday, May 22nd at 12:00pm.
This meeting is an opportunity to report out to the community about the many exciting and promising Coalition initiatives, as well as to hear from you as to concerns, celebrations or needs. Please let me know if you or your agency would like to report out or make an announcement. An agenda will be sent out just prior to the meeting.
A "complimentary lunch" will be provided. Please kindly RSVP by Monday May 19th if you plan to attend this meeting so we can be sure to have enough food on hand.
Location: Squid's Restaurant, 1201 15-501 Hwy Bypass, Chapel Hill, 942-8757 This meeting open to the public. Please forward this invite to others who might like to attend.
I look forward to seeing you soon!
Dale Pratt-Wilson, Director
The Coalition for Alcohol & Drug Free Teenagers
of Chapel Hill and Carrboro
www.chccoalition.org
