Vernon Coalition Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act - The Underage Drinking Project will reduce underage drinking, including binge drinking, in Vernon Township, which is located in rural, northwestern Sussex County, New Jersey. Environmental strategies that are consistent with those recommended in the Surgeon Generals Call to Action and SAMHSA's Strategic Initiatives will be utilized to alter the alcohol consumption patterns of Vernon's youth who are most at risk of engaging in underage drinking. The goal of this project is to reduce drinking, including binge drinking, among the subpopulations of Vernon youth most vulnerable to disparities which are 18-20 year olds, athletes, LGBTQ youth and children from military families through environmental strategies that change policies, practices and social norms. A total of3,300 youth, ages 12-20, and their parents will be served annually and 13,200 will be served over the project's four years. The Underage Drinking Task Force, a committee of the DFC-funded Vernon Coalition, will utilize the Strategic Prevention Framework to guide its work. The strategies to be implemented are as follows:
Objective 1: Change social norms related to underage drinking among Vernon's 18-20 year olds as measured by focus groups and interviews
Objective 2: Change policies and practices among Vernon's school and community sports programs to ensure they meet national standards regarding the prevention of alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use as measured by policy review and implementation
Objective 3: Increase protective factors among LGBTQ youth through policy change, advocacy and changing social norms as measured by focus groups and PRIDE surveys
Objective 4: Promote community connectedness among Vernon's military families, thereby increasing protective factors in children of military parents and siblings as measured by focus groups, interviews and PRIDE surveys
