Researcher: Melissa Walden, Ph.D., P.E.
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation
This project employs a community based approach to address underage drinking through team assessment in the community and localized strategic planning. The approach was originally developed as a rapid response approach so that states and local communities could deploy a team to address the underage drinking problem in the wake of a specific incident. This project trained a group of professionals in the areas of education, enforcement, prevention and public policy to assess a community based on its underage drinking and driving issues. An assessment team worked with coalitions in Austin, San Antonio and El Paso to review current community practices and work with local participants to develop a strategic and operational plan to address the problem.