A Program for Prevention Agencies to Reduce Underage Sales

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A Program for Prevention Agencies to Reduce Underage Sales. The Responsible Retailing Forum ( RRF ) has developed a new model that has shown significant promise in pilot studies as a way of improving ID- checking and refusal to sell or serve alcohol and tobacco products to minors. The model, which incorporates the recommendations contained in the Report on Best Practices for Responsible Retailing, prepared as a federal guidance document for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention in 2002, employs a quality improvement approach to assist retailers improve age-verification. RRF seeks to adapt this model so that it can be employed by prevention agencies and coalitions. Researchers from Brandeis University, the Prevention Research Center and Boston University will partner with RRF and the state substance abuse office and state alcohol regulator in Pennsylvania and Maryland to: (1) Administer written surveys to prevention agency and coalition staff in the participating states to identify organizations with attitudes, capacity and readiness to conduct Responsible Retailing programs with retailers (2) Conduct a summit meeting with prevention agency and coalition staff, state substance abuse and alcohol regulator officials and RRF researchers in each of the two states to examine potential RR materials, implementation strategies and technical assistance needs for a prevention agency or coalition implementation of the RR assistance model (3) Select two prevention agencies/coalitions in each state and assist them to implement the RRF retailer assistance model and conduct a descriptive analysis that identifies facilitators and barriers to effective recruitment of licensees into the program. This research on the technical and commercial feasibility of a retailer assistance program implemented by prevention agencies/coalitions will lead to a Phase II study to validate the effectiveness of prevention agencies and coalitions in engaging retailers and in improving age-verification and sales refusal for alcohol and tobacco. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: A Program for Prevention Agencies to Reduce Underage Sales, This project will adapt a model derived from a 2002 report to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Report on Best Practices for Responsible Retailing, so that it can be implemented by prevention agencies and coalitions to provide assistance to retailers in reducing underage sales of alcohol and tobacco products.