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Thursday, September 08, 2011

September Meeting Notes (abreviated)

Several new or returning members were welcomed. The group had about 7 minutes to partner-up and learn more about their neighbor through a brief coalition building exercise.
Amy Feeley-Knuuttila facilitated the meeting. Present from LUK were also Denise Frizell and Vicente Sanabria, who helped facilitate a coalition orientation at 2:30.
Members of the team who were NOT able to attend orientation were still given an orientation packet including the grant and other information about coalition building as requested at the last meeting.
Some GCAT outputs were discussed including:


• Posters on Rx disposal…Trudy, Joan and Bernie requested copies for their contacts. Amy Feeley-Knuuttila to print and deliver about 15 more posters.

• Shoulder Taps/Sticker Shocks…Mitch Aho is recruiting SADD kids. Lt. Minns (absent) to choose an Oct. date for these activities.

• Info table at school open house… coalition volunteers to assist. Survey on social norm campaign and material to be distributed, Parent “Safe Homes” network to begin...

• SADD party…coordinators are arranging with SADD adult contact.

Tobacco Control suggested optional sticker shocks on tobacco for the 31 licensees in Gardner. She also suggested tobacco shoulder taps. The group agreed to add these to the list of potential activities for 2011-2012.


The group also agreed to be a part of the discussion around a change in law so that pharmacies would NOT be able to sell tobacco.

Amy Feeley-Knuuttila thanked Andrea Neale for reaching out to potential new members.

Subcommittees were arranged as follows….


Subcommittee Chairs are:

 Mitch Aho (Alcohol)


Joan Hamlett (Tobacco)


Paula Malette (absent) (Rx)

 Chairs were asked to contact their members and recruit new members out of the general coalition using the gcat@luk.org email listserv. They were asked to hold a Sept. meeting (which they can choose on their own as subcommittees) and to use that time to work on developing solutions around their chosen substances.

 The group then began filling in the CADCA based “working logic model” for the general problem of substance abuse that GCAT is working on. They identified reasons for substance use, and answered the question “why here?” followed by discussion about possible activities and strategies to attack the general problem. Amy Feeley-Knuuttila agreed to put these general strategies into a formal document, and to integrate the subcommittees work into the document before the next full GCAT meeting.


There was a set of “outro-ductions” for those who arrived late.


The next meeting date was set, and GCAT was adjourned at 4:56pm.

Next meeting set for October 4thth, 2011 from 3-5pm at the Snell conference room at Gardner High School. Please note the change in location. Also, as Amy will be at a conference that week, the meeting will be facilitated by her partner, Katie White.
Please call Amy Feeley-Knuuttila at 978-829-2425 with questions, or email afeeley@luk.org or kwhite@luk.org



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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.