San Clemente Underage Drinking Prevention Initiative: Building Citywide Capacity - The Wellness & Prevention Foundation, fiscal agent for the Wellness & Prevention Coalition (WPC), requests STOP Act funding to expand the coalition's capacity to prevent and reduce underage alcohol use among youth and young adults ages 12 to 20 with a primary focus on ages 12 to 18 in San Clemente, California. Building on nine years of Drug-Free Communities and four years of STOP Act-funded prevention work, the WPC will continue to deepen community-wide collaboration, deliver two evidence-based curricula, and strengthen data-driven decision-making to reduce underage drinking and its associated harms across San Clemente. San Clemente has approximately 62,626 residents, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Camp Pendleton, and the cities of Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano. While the WPC's DFC-funded work has helped reduce past 30-day alcohol use (one or more drinks of alcohol) among 11th graders, down from 35% in 2017 to 16% in 2024, underage drinking remains a community concern: with 50% of 7th graders, 46% of 9th graders, and 50% of 11th graders perceiving slight to no risk from occasional alcohol use (CHKS, 2024), and 21.6% of San Clemente adults reporting regular binge drinking (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, 2022), reinforcing permissive community norms. STOP Act funding will build the coalition's capacity to close this gap by reaching a broader cross-section of San Clemente's youth and families than current DFC capacity allows. Capacity-building activities will include expanding coalition membership and establishing a formalized youth advisory group; developing a Logic Model and 12-month Action Plan; increasing intergovernmental coordination with city government, law enforcement, and county partners holding public coalition meetings, and community meetings for public feedback accessible to all San Clemente households. As its primary evidence-based curricula, the WPC will deliver Active Parenting, a SAMHSA-recognized parent education program, to strengthen family communication and protective attitudes toward alcohol use, and SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness, a single session adolescent motivational intervention integrating substance use prevention with health promotion. Project goals/objectives are to: (1) build coalition capacity through evidence-based programming and youth engagement infrastructure, including measurable delivery targets for both Active Parenting and SPORT PPW; (2) increase family protective factors among San Clemente parents/guardians who complete Active Parenting, as measured by pre/post assessment; and (3) reduce underage alcohol use (past 30-day use, perceived risk, parental/peer disapproval) among San Clemente youth who complete SPORT PPW, as measured through a local survey. These goals and objectives directly advance SAMHSA's Strategic Priority of preventing substance misuse and addiction among youth through evidence-based, outcome-focused, data-driven practice.
