Underage
Drinking: Success Stories
Washington – September 4, 2003
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With support from the OJJDP
Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Initiative, community organizations, enforcement agencies, youth, and other concerned citizens are working collaboratively to
change local ordinances and enforcement practices.
Meaningful Evaluation in Washington State
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An effective evaluation needs to be useful at several levels.
Unfortunately, most of us do not get beyond the executive summary. This
misses crucial aspects afforded by a review of your program, and
opportunities to improve service delivery.
Three key recommendations for an effective evaluation are recommended:
. Work with an evaluator who understands the issues.
. Share the findings of the evaluation with those who produced and
submitted the data.
. Address all recommendations of the evaluation.
With that in mind, the recently completed cross-site evaluation of
Washington State?s Reducing Underage Drinking (RUAD) program conducted by
Patricia Fabiano, Ph.D., of Western Washington University, not only
provided a valuable document for contract and audit purposes, but also
provided a starting point for improving State management of Enforcing
Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) funding.
To begin the evaluation process, a workshop for past and present
contractors, their coalition members, and other State-level stakeholders
was held. The workshop highlighted findings of the evaluation, suggested
improvements, showcased program strengths, and provided an opportunity to
share successful and unsuccessful strategies.
Sharing the results with those who produced the data generated the buy-in
needed to make the following changes:
. Development of a standardized set of evaluation tools to measure data
consistently across site.
. Definitions of common terms used in reporting.
. Inclusion of the evaluator at site visits.
. Development of specific objectives to address identified problem areas
in selected communities with a tie to effective environmental programs to
address those problems.
Significant progress in reducing underage drinking in Washington over the
past 4 years is evident in the results of student surveys conducted since
1988. The most recent survey conducted during the fall of 2002 of more
than 137,000 students in 752 schools indicates that the number of students
reporting alcohol consumption at least once in the 30 days before the
survey declined significantly across all age groups:
Decreases in recent alcohol use since 1998:
. 6th grade ? 42 percent
. 8th grade ? 20 percent
. 10th grade ? 22 percent
. 12th grade ? 9 percent
Decreases in binge drinking(five or more drinks in a row) since 1998:
. 8th grade ? 33 percent
. 12th grade ? 14 percent
These results are consistent with the National trend as reported in the
2002 Monitoring the Future survey, although Washington results indicate
greater positive change.
For more information, contact
Aaron Starks at (360) 438-8212 or
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