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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

GCAT Meeting

GCAT (Gardner Community Action Team)
Minutes
July 1st 2008

Attendance- Joshua Tackett (CMCA), Sean Harris (LUK,CMCHC), Amy Whitney (MADD), Cathy Apostoleris (MOC), Mariah Harding (SADD), Samantha Permenter (SADD), Tim Gamache (SADD), Gabby Istivan (SADD), Josh Caron (SADD)

Items Discussed

SADD Project plan
Getting into the Middle Schools and getting SADD help
Shoulder Taps/Sticker Shock
Sticker Shock planned for August 29th during the day and Shoulder Tap planned for Leominster when confirmed.
Events
Planning events throughout the year 3 in total the first to be held in October in the form of Town Hall Meeting to achieve the goals of getting message out there as well as attracting members also giving a forum for SADD kids to make presentation
One-One Interviews
We are attempting to get around 50 people interviewed this month, people from all walks of life and all parts of the city. We have divided the list up and have people asking folk from everywhere and will continue to ask for referrals.
Event Calendar
We will come up with a calendar showing the events planned for each month up to the month of January at that time we’ll review the activities and decide upon the next few months based off of what we think worked and where we should be spending our energy

Future Happenings

Sticker Shock Aug 29th
Parental Pursuit Training Aug 29th
Shoulder Tap for Leominster
One-One Interviews throughout the month

Other Points of Interest
We have divided the responsibilities for the GCAT meetings and from now on we will be giving the responsibility of agenda writing to one member and minute taking to another. I have forms for both that I will add to this E-mail. The format for the Agenda will be that one person will be the contact person for everyone who has an item that they would like to discuss with the group. Along with the item should be an approximate time frame to discuss it. When we meet the items will all be on the agenda and as a group we will spend a few minutes to decide which one to tackle first. As for minute taking one person will be responsible to take general minutes of the meetings. Both of these responsibilities are on a volunteer basis and you aren’t required to volunteer two months in a row so as to give people a chance to participate in meetings more directly.

Next Meeting- Sept 2nd @ 2:00pm at Gardner High School

Agenda- Gabby (GHS) llama1992@gmail.com Please address any agenda questions or suggestions to Gabby.

Minute Taker- Tim (GHS)
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Social Host Liability

What Is A Community Action Team?

LUK, Inc.’s Community Action Team (CAT) represents an initiative, funded by DPH Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, to help organize and mobilize select communities to reduce rates of underage drinking. CATs utilize a model known as Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA). Local data is used to inform activity selection. CATs look for trends in both school and police data. After identifying local trends, CATs plan activities from a menu of interventions with each option designed to decrease underage access to alcohol or to increase community awareness. Community teams monitor their actions by conducting surveys and/or examining the data for new trends. If/when selected activities don’t contribute to desired changes, CATs may adjust their respective action plans.The CATs employ environmental strategies to prevent underage drinking. Environmental strategies focus on increasing community protective factors while deceasing risk factors that influence underage drinking.

Strategic Prevention Framework

Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) is a five step process (see below) developed by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to assist communities in building the infrastructure necessary for effective and sustainable prevention of substance use and abuse. Programs currently funded by BSAS in Massachusetts utilize this framework.SPF: The Five Step ProcessStep 1: AssessmentStep 2: Capacity BuildingStep 3: PlanningStep 4: ImplementationStep 5: monitoring and evaluatingKey Principles of the SPF· Follows a Public Health Approach· Focuses on change for entire populations (collections of individuals who have one or more personal or environmental characteristic in common)· Considers an entire range of factors that determine health· Is outcome-based· Follows a strategic planning process· Uses data throughout the process to make informed decisions.

CATs In Action

While each CAT is unique, they share common approaches, group maintenance functions, and responsibilities to BSAS. Shared group maintenance functions:

Agenda setting
Meeting facilitation
Minute-taking

Common responsibilities to BSAS to a shared set of activities (some examples include, but are not limited to):
Compliance Check
Shoulder Tap
Social Host Liability Training
Sticker Shock
One-on-one Interviews

Compliance Check
A Compliance Check usually involves the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) or the local Police Department. The purpose of the compliance check is to make certain that establishments selling alcohol are checking identification and selling responsibly according to Massachusetts State Law requirements. To complete a compliance check, preplanning is conducted around the partnership between CAT team members and out-of-area youth. The youth enter alcohol vending establishments and attempt to purchase alcohol. If the bar, restaurant or liquor store finalizes the transaction between the vendor and the youth under twenty-one years of age, the youth must walk with the item in hand and give it to the officials waiting outside the establishment. The youth reports the outcome of the transaction to the ABCC/officers and identify the establishment employee who served them. This person is informed by a ABCC/local Police Department representative that they have just committed a crime. A citation is immediately issued to the person and/or the establishment under the name of the license holder.

Shoulder Tap
A Shoulder Tap campaign involves youth (specifically anyone under twenty-one years of age) in association with liquor store owners and the local Police Department.To perform a shoulder tap, the youth position themselves outside the entrance door of a liquor store establishment and ask customers hypothetically: “We are under the age of twenty-one and cannot buy alcohol ourselves. If we were to ask you to buy us alcohol would you?” Depending on the answer from the customer the youth themselves would issue the person either a “YES” card or a “NO” card, along with a short verbal explanation about why purchasing alcohol for youth is wrong and against Massachusetts State Law

Social Host Liability Training
Social Host Liability Training is an activity usually accomplished in cooperation with the District Attorney or the local Police Department. The training includes reviewing the laws and regulations of regarding serving alcohol to minors on personal property and the liability that comes from alcohol being served on one’s own property without owner awareness. The District Attorney/local Police Department reviews the consequences of the Social Host Liability Laws.

Sticker Shock
A Sticker Shock campaign is an activity that involves adults and youth under age twenty-one entering stores to help raise awareness of underage drinking. With permission from the liquor store owners, youth and adult volunteers enter stores and apply stickers, specifically targeting cases of beer, and all alcohol beverages (excluding single bottles). The sticker must not obstruct the label. The stickers say things like “Hey You! It’s Illegal to Provide Alcohol to Anyone Under 21” and “Buyer Beware Don’t Provide Alcohol for Kids.”

One-on-One Interviews
One-on-One Interviews are an integral element of the CAT project. In a One-on-One Interview, a designated CAT member asks a series of questions to members of the community to get insight into the community at large. The questions are also designed to raise awareness and solicit feedback on project activities.