Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program

• NCJ Number: 176216
• Author(s): Kay McKinney
• Date Published: May 1999
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP

Annotation

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is helping States address the problem of underage drinking through a $50 million program of block grants, discretionary programs, and training and technical assistance.

Abstract

The Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws program provides assistance to States and the District of Columbia for developing comprehensive and coordinated initiatives to enforce laws prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors and to prevent the purchase or consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors. The OJJDP awarded $25 million in fiscal year 1998--$18.36 million in block grants, $5 million in discretionary funds, and $1.64 million for training and technical assistance. Each State and the District of Columbia received a block grant of $360,000 to develop programs to improve the enforcement of underage drinking laws. Public education activities ranged from sponsoring media contests to creating billboard messages. Innovative programs included creating youth task forces to examine community norms and messages young people received and hiring an individual to act as a liaison between young people and communities on the issue of underage drinking. Discretionary funds were awarded to 10 States and Puerto Rico to help communities develop comprehensive approaches to the problem of underage drinking. Four training and technical assistance grants were awarded to the National Association of Governors, the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the Police Executive Research Forum. A compendium of resources on underage drinking law enforcement developed by the OJJDP is noted.