Compliance Checks: An Effective Prevention Strategy to Deter Alcohol Sales to Minors

 

Gwinnett United in Drug Education (GUIDE, Inc.) and the Gwinnett Coalition work together to reduce underage drinking in Gwinnett County through an evidence-based strategy called “compliance checks.” Compliance checks occur when underage decoys visit local establishments to attempt to buy alcohol. Conducted through partnerships with the Gwinnett County Police Department and police departments in the cities of Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn and Snellville, compliance checks serve to discourage the sale of alcohol to minors by enforcing penalties associated with illegal sales.

Gwinnett’s very own substance abuse prevention agency, GUIDE was formed in 1986 as a joint effort between the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners and the Gwinnett County Board of Education. These insightful community leaders wanted to have a comprehensive, coordinated and proactive approach to reducing and preventing substance use and abuse across the county. GUIDE became an active partner with the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services when it began in 1991. GUIDE and the Gwinnett Coalition work together on a number of substance abuse prevention issues including underage drinking prevention, which has been a priority for the county since the late 1990s.

In 2018, 14.33% of 12th grade students and 6.07% of 8th grade students in Gwinnett County reported having at least one or more drinks of alcohol in the past 30 days according to the Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0. The good news in these numbers is the percentage of 30 day alcohol use has decreased from where it was several years ago. Though we still have work to do to reduce these numbers even more, the collaboration between GUIDE and the Gwinnett Coalition supports many initiatives that have reduced the number of Gwinnett youth who have access to and consume alcohol.

One of the efforts that is jointly supported by GUIDE and the Gwinnett Coalition are the partnerships with the Gwinnett County Police Department as well as police departments in the cities of Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn and Snellville. These police departments work within the community to conduct compliance checks to make sure retailers follow current laws and ordinances, check IDs and don’t sell alcohol to minors. Underage decoys visit local restaurants, gas stations and convenience, grocery and drug stores to attempt to buy alcohol. If the employee does not ask for an ID and/or sells or serves the decoy alcohol, then the employee receives a citation from the police officer or detective.

Conducting compliance checks is an effective environmental change strategy because it helps decrease the probability of employees selling alcohol to those under 21 by keeping the retailers in check.  It also increases the chances of employees checking IDs, so they do not receive a citation. This is known as the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) change strategy, Changing Consequences. The penalties for selling or serving to a minor vary between unincorporated Gwinnett and the cities, and all of GUIDE’s police department partners work to provide education and prevent sales and service to minors in addition to their compliance check operations.

From October 2018 to March 2019, these local police departments made a combined total of 393 visits to alcohol retailers to ensure that safe alcohol sales are occurring. The Gwinnett County Police Department detectives made 280 visits to alcohol retailers in unincorporated Gwinnett County, and 52 sold to the underage decoy, which is a compliance rate of 81%. In the City of Duluth, the compliance rate was 100%, which included 20 visits and none of those selling to the decoy. In the City of Lawrenceville, the compliance rate was 67%, which included 21 visits to retailers and seven of those selling to the decoy. In the City of Lilburn, the compliance rate was 93%, which included 55 visits to retailers and four of those selling to the decoy. In the City of Snellville, the compliance rate was 88%, which included 17 visits and two of those selling to the decoy. Because of the commitment of the local police departments to conduct these checks on a regular basis, the county is able to maintain a higher compliance rate overall. This means that the majority of retailers in Gwinnett County are following underage alcohol sales laws, checking IDs and helping reduce retail access of alcohol to those under 21.

Gwinnett County compliance checks are made possible through the partnerships with each police department and funding from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and the Gwinnett Coalition’s Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP Act) grant from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

For additional information about the work of the Gwinnett Coalition for Health & Human Services, please contact our Chief Operating Officer, Keith Fenton at 770-995-3339 or keith@gwinnettcoalition.org

Nothing but the Truth: The Value of Community Connections

How one dog and her owner became a nonprofit helping thousands of children and youth

 

It all started with a dog named Truth. When the little wriggly ball of yellow fur stared straight into Scarlett Rigsby’s eyes, right after Rigsby prayed for clarity on which of the eight puppies to pick, it was the beginning of a nonprofit that would help thousands of children and their families. Rigsby had seen, from her 18 years working with the YMCA, how dogs can change someone’s day and was looking for a new ministry partner. Rigsby put down the puppy she had been holding and picked up HER puppy. She named her new Golden Retriever “Truth” and took her faith and her dog and began meeting people where they were – serving them and helping change their lives. Out of that, Nothing but the Truth was born.

Since that day in 2010, Nothing but the Truth has grown to serving over 1,000 Gwinnett and Clayton County public school students every week through their weekend food bag program, helping homeless families get back on their feet by providing Truth’s Home, offering medical and dental care at Truth’s Community Clinic, and providing homework help, ESL classes, and life conversation groups at Truth’s Place.

Over the years, the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services has helped connect NBTT with resources, volunteers and more.  “The Gwinnett Coalition’s Great Days of Service has helped raise awareness around what we are doing as they brought different groups to help and some of those people have started coming year round,” Rigsby said. “They also helped connect us with community partners who help pack and deliver our weekend food bags.

“It’s been a great partnership to help raise awareness among the community and business partners and has really helped connect the dots between needs and how we’re addressing those needs.”

In fact, NBTT took over a program the Gwinnett Coalition piloted a few years ago, the Swag Bag Project. The project provides access to feminine hygiene products and health information to middle and high school girls living in poverty in Gwinnett. The Gwinnett Coalition had discovered that students were missing school because they didn’t have the supplies they needed each month

“It’s an important project because once we can reduce absenteeism there is a better chance of success academically,” Rigsby said.

For NBTT, the Swag Bag Project was a natural fit.

“NBTT began with a desire to work in our schools and have them tell us what the community needs are so we could meet those. So when Suzy Bus, the Gwinnett Coalition’s helpline director and a long-time friend, asked us to manage the project, it made sense. We already had a relationship with school counselors and this would allow us to expand to communicating with the school nurses.

“The Swag Bag Project has really exploded. The Gwinnett Coalition piloted it in three schools and now we’re in 40 schools in Gwinnett and Barrow (and expanding to Clayton County) and have provided well over 800 bags, 800 pairs of underwear and multiple resupplies of pads just this school year. It’s still primarily in middle and high schools but we’re finding that some of the elementary schools are also asking for bags.

Though the Gwinnett Coalition doesn’t manage the project, it still helps support it by sending any donations that could be used for the Swag Bag Project to NBTT and helping connect interested volunteers.

“We can always use donations of new underwear in various sizes as well as pads, especially since those are one of our more expensive items,” Rigsby said. “We can also use volunteers to help assemble and then deliver the bags. With this program, we deliver bags usually once every two to three months so it’s not a huge time commitment for volunteers.”

As NBTT has experienced, being connected to the Gwinnett Coalition has helped expand their reach into the community. Their partnership highlights the Gwinnett Coalition’s mission of facilitating collaboration that improves the well-being of the community.

To discover more about NBTT and how you can get involved, visit nothingbutthetruth146.org.

 

The Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Service is seeking a dynamic self-starter to assist in a wide variety of marketing and communications efforts to help the organization elevate brand awareness and increase visibility of its programs and services. The Marketing and Communications Intern will help to coordinate a broad scope of projects and deliverables encompassing various communication channels, including social media, print, digital media, media relations, and other outreach opportunities. He or she will work collaboratively with internal teams, as well as community volunteers and organizational stakeholders. A good fit for this position is someone who is proactive, organized, flexible, and passionate about social impact communications.

POSITION TITLE
Marketing & Communications Intern

ABOUT THE GWINNETT COALITION FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
The Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services is a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the health and human service needs of all citizens in Gwinnett County, Georgia. As the official planner for health and human services for children and families, the Gwinnett Coalition strives to achieve its mission by identifying needs and resources, setting priorities, planning solutions, focusing on results, and educating and motivating the community to action.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Drafting and distributing news releases, media advisories, and online calendar listing of events

Assist in maintaining up-to-date and relevant website content

Assist in creating, scheduling, and distributing compelling “Storytelling” content that provides value to target audiences across print, digital, social media, websites, email, and other communication channels

Tracking and managing social media profiles to engage with followers and attract new audiences

Researching, maintaining, and cultivating relationships with local and regional media outlets and position Gwinnett Coalition leadership as “go-to” experts for stories related to health and human services

Managing opt-in and unsubscribe lists, develop email campaigns within marketing automation platforms, draft and manage email content, testing, and sending

Support setup and tracking of Google AdWords and other online and print advertising campaigns

Capture, analyze, and report social media, email, and website data/metrics, insights, trends, and best practices

Developing systems for maintaining collateral inventory, marketing assets, and image library.

Other duties as identified

QUALIFICATIONS
Completed or working towards degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or related field

Background and/or interest in health and human services industry

Excellent written and verbal communications skills

Knowledge and experience with social media platforms

Strong attention to detail and organizational skills

Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and meet deadlines

Must have a reliable mode of transportation and valid driver’s license

DATES OF INTERNSHIP
Open (Year-round, Full-time and Part-time Opportunities)

COMPENSATION
This is a non-paid internship

TO APPLY

Applicants should send letter of interest and current resume to Keith Fenton, Chief Operating Officer, at keith@gwinnettcoalition.org.
NO TELEPHONE CALLS PLEASE

Download the Announcement PDF

Transportation comes in many forms and influences our lives in many ways. As the citizens of Gwinnett County begin to ponder how they will vote on the March 19th transit referendum, one aspect to consider is how transportation options can directly and indirectly affect the health and well-being of the community.

Expanding the availability of, safety for, and access to a variety of transportation options has the potential to save lives by preventing chronic diseases, reducing and preventing motor-vehicle-related injury and deaths, improving environmental health, enhancing access to medical care and healthy food while stimulating economic development, and ensuring access for all people.

Studies show that lack of access to transportation reduces health care utilization among children, seniors, low-income people, and people with disabilities. One survey found that 4-percent of U.S. children (3.6 million in total) either missed a scheduled health care visit or did not schedule a visit during the preceding year because of transportation restrictions.

While the majority of the population here in Gwinnett County has ready access to and typically use private automobiles to access health care and other community services, there also is a significant segment of the population that either does not have access to a personal automobile or is not currently capable of driving. This can limit their access to health care, but it has greater health implications because it can also limit access to nutrition and other community services, as well as involvement in social activities. Limiting this access deprives people of the opportunity to make the choices that allow them to live a long, healthy life, regardless of their age, income, education or ethnic background.

Each day, until the March 19th transit referendum, the Gwinnett Coalition will share information through its social media outlets illustrating how public health improvements are among the largest benefits provided by high quality public transit.