Teen pregnancy in the United States has declined significantly in the last two decades. Despite these declines, rates of teen birth, HIV, and STIs in the United States remain among the highest of any industrialized nation. Socio-economic, cultural and structural factors such as poverty, limited access to health care, racism and unemployment…

Coalitions have been used successfully in the United States to tackle a number of seemingly intractable problems. For communities that want to reduce their underage drinking problem, putting together a broad-based coalition can bring substantial dividends. In this guide, readers will learn the steps that bring together a diverse group of people in…

This Monthly Action Kit introduces some approaches to defining local substance abuse indicators and provides ideas on how to measure them. The kit also contains examples of what some communities are doing to measure their local progress. A few indicators worth considering are outlined with suggestions about what to measure, where to find the data,…

The resources contained in this guide represent a comprehensive list of organizations that have an interest in or knowledge about underage drinking issues. The list begins with the individuals and organizations involved in the National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives (NAGHSR) Underage Drinking Project, including the names…

Underage drinking is a significant problem in the United States: Alcohol is the primary contributor to the leading causes of death among adolescents. As a result, communitywide strategies to prevent underage drinking are more important than ever. Such strategies depend on the involvement and education of adolescents, parents, law enforcement …

In 2006, more than 6 million individuals were victimized by violent crimes. Although violence is below levels of the early 1990s, it remains high. The extent of violence and its impact highlight a critical need to develop and implement effective programs to reduce violence and victimization. Communities have initiated a wide range of such…

A policy panel of criminal justice experts proposed recommendations to help criminal justice systems become consistently integrated into a community response to substance abuse. The recommendations are: (1) repeal mandatory sentencing; (2) expand substance abuse treatment throughout the criminal justice system; (3) collaborate within the criminal…

To debunk the myth that evaluation is a process better left to people with a PhD, this guide describes how organizations and coalitions can develop and utilize an evaluation strategy to make underage drinking prevention programs successful and effective. This booklet first describes the purpose of evaluation as well as the myths and facts about…

One of the most effective ways to raise awareness about a problem and generate support for solutions is through the media. This guide describes the basic principles of media relations that can help organizations develop an effective media strategy for underage drinking prevention. The tools that are necessary for this strategy, including news…

A comprehensive needs assessment is the critical first step a coalition or organization must take in order to develop an effective and successful underage drinking prevention effort. This guide details the elements of a needs assessment. Beginning with data, the booklet walks the reader through the process organizations must follow to obtain all…

Underage drinking prevention has two goals: prevent harm to the individual drinker and prevent harm to society. Modern prevention programs should be measured not by their intentions, but by their consequences: reducing the number of criminal events, reducing the amount of harm to individuals, and reducing the harm to society. This guide discusses…

This guide details what coalitions and organizations need to do to insure the enforcement and judicial communities are active partners in the effort to reduce underage drinking. One of the first tasks discussed is the necessity for groups to understand the needs and concerns of law enforcement and to recognize that underage drinking enforcement…

Targeting public policy is a necessary part of a successful underage drinking prevention effort. This guide details how coalitions and organizations can effectively work to change public policies that impact underage drinking. The booklet first explains the elements of public policy including laws, regulations, and the policies and practices of…

When it comes to conducting an underage drinking prevention program, most people think of the planning and implementation activities that are needed. The one question many do not answer, however, is how will the organization obtain the funding that is necessary for those planning and implementation activities, particularly over the long-term. An…

This planning guide is designed to help communities answer important questions about programs to address youth violence, including finding out the types of programs that are effective and learning how to implement them. The guide is divided into four sections. Section 1, "Key Facts about Youth Violence," presents key facts about youth violence…