Prevention Services

We offer alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention and education programs to Westmoreland County.  We serve children, adults, senior citizens and community groups. Our programs and services are free.

Program Funding

• The Community Prevention Program is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

For More Information

Contact Westmoreland Community Action for more information on the Community Prevention Program or call 724-834-1260 x 132.

return to top

---

Parents Who Host, Lose the Most: Don’t be a party to teenage drinking

The Parents Who Host, Lose The Most: Don’t be a party to teenage drinking public awareness campaign was developed by Drug-Free Action Alliance in 2000. The campaign objectives are to educate parents about the health and safety risks of serving alcohol at teen house parties and to increase awareness of and compliance with the  Underage Drinking Laws.

The campaign takes place on a local and a statewide level and concentrates on celebratory times for youth: homecoming, holiday, prom and graduation seasons and other times when underage drinking parties are prevalent.   

Since the campaign began it has been requested for replication in all 50 states, Canada, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. In 2001, the Parents Who Host, Lose The Most: Don’t be a party to teenage drinking campaign received the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s Promising Prevention Program Award. 

• Get Tips for Parents About Teenage Drinking.

Implementation

In order to facilitate local support for the campaign, public awareness kits are disseminated when requested from the Drug Free Action Alliance to local communities. The kits contain helpful materials to assist in local implementation. The intent of the kits is to provide communities with tools that are factual, reproducible, and free. Drug-Free Action Alliance must be acknowledged as the originator of the campaign on all reproduced materials.

Partnerships

Mini-grants have been given to local communities to promote the campaign. These communities in turn partner with their schools, businesses and media in their local area to increase the distribution of this important message. Funding has also been used to increase law enforcement activities through compliance checks and party patrols. On a statewide level, Drug-Free Action Alliance partners with corporations to reproduce and disseminate materials to their customers and employees. Participating corporations include large manufacturers, grocery stores, convenience stores and insurance companies.  

Evaluation

Since the campaign began in 2000, an independent evaluation by the Miami University, Applied Research Center has been conducted, with a targeted phone survey of households in Franklin County with a parent and a teen between the ages of 13-18.  The survey seeks to determine the attitudes and perceptions of respondents regarding teen alcohol use and specifically adult provision of alcohol to teens. There have been observable changes in attitudes and behaviors related to underage drinking. The comparative data from 2001 to 2006 phone surveys indicated the following changes.

• There was a 42% decrease among youth respondents from 2001 to 2006 who indicated that they know of parents who host parties where alcohol is available or served to teens.
   
• There was a 29% decrease among parent respondents from 2001 to 2006 who indicated that they know of other parents who host parties where alcohol is available or served to teens.
   
• There was a 32% increase among youth respondents from 2001 to 2006 who indicated that the campaign information led to a discussion between themselves and their parent about underage drinking.
   
• There was a 36% decrease among youth respondents from 2001 to 2006 who indicated that they had attended a party in the last two months where alcohol was served to youth.
  
• There was a 33% increase among parent respondents from 2001 to 2006 who indicated that if other parents knew this campaign information it would keep them from hosting parties where alcohol is available or served.
   

 In conclusion, the evaluation results support the campaign’s effectiveness for increasing knowledge of  underage drinking laws, providing important educational information to parents and youth about underage drinking, and helping to prevent parents and other adults from hosting parties where alcohol is available or served to teens.  

Funding

Drug-Free Action Alliance is the sub-grantee from the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services for the grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Initiative funds.

Contact

For more information about the campaign or to receive a copy of the campaign materials, please contact Drug-Free Action Alliance at www.DrugFreeActionAlliance.org or (614)540-9985.  

• Get Tips for Parents About Teenage Drinking.