NABCA Awards
Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority
Award Year
2018-2019
Education Award $10,000
Focus Area Education | Awareness, Capacity Building | Collaboration
Youth-Led Training
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (Virginia ABC) used its Education Award to support training retreats for 70 youth staff who lead the development, implementation, and facilitation of the Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project Conference (YADAPP, yadapp.com). The youth staff are vital to the conference. Using a tiered peer leadership training model, past YADAPP youth participants are recruited to plan and organize the conference through four retreats. Youth chosen for these roles are trained in Drug and Alcohol 101, effective prevention programming planning, facilitation, leadership, unconscious bias, customer service, and conflict management to prepare them for the conference which is typically held in July.
The youth staff are assisted closely by Virginia ABC Education and Prevention staff and supported by Virginia ABC Enforcement agents. Now in its 34th year, YADAPP continues to achieve its mission of empowering high school students to keep their school and community alcohol and drug free by taking on positive peer leadership roles and implementing prevention programming in their communities.
Supplemental Award $50,000
Focus Area Data Collection | Technology
Statewide Campus Assessment Project
Building on prior year award funds where the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (Virginia ABC) created the Virginia Higher Education Substance Use Advisory Committee (VHESUAC) by developing an executive council and workgroup, made up of administration, staff, student leaders, state agencies, and statewide organizations involved in combatting underage drinking, representing most of the colleges across the state, the Virginia ABC, continued its financial support to assist the VHESUAC members with its next project, a research assessment.
VHESUAC, a state-mandated effort to address college drinking, must create an action plan to address college drinking in the state. Yet the VHESUAC members realized that before they could develop a comprehensive plan of action, research was needed to better understand the issue. Working with its research partner, Brand Planning, the VHESUAC members designed the Statewide Campus Assessment Project based on the Maryland Collaborative’s College Drinking in Maryland: A Status Report.
The Spurrier Group was able to sample roughly half of the schools in Virginia, assessing the strengths and challenges of current tactics to combat underage drinking in colleges and universities in the state through interviews with various campus stakeholders, including student health and counseling, student conduct, campus police and security, residence life, Greek life, and individuals tasked with coordinating drug-related programs. The interviews filled key knowledge gaps, which the VHESUAC members used to create an effective strategic plan, comprehensively evaluating this multi-faceted issue of college drinking.
Through the assessment, VHESUAC members were able to better understand the local campus environments, and the effectiveness of various education and prevention programs, screening and intervention services, policies and enforcement practices, parent involvement, faculty/staff curriculum and training, planning and collaboration, and evaluation efforts. Data collected from this project, in addition to other outcomes from several executive council and workgroup activities, was used to write the Virginia Higher Education Substance Use Strategic Plan. The plan set goals and strategies and included a findings report that was shared with the institutes of higher education (IHEs) that participated in this research. VHESUAC believes that the Virginia Higher Education Substance Use Strategic Plan is vital for addressing alcohol – and other drug-related issues – on campuses and for achieving both systemic change and change in student behavior.
Together, Virginia ABC and VHESUAC are developing a research-based approach to reduce alcohol misuse amongIHEs throughout the Commonwealth and to advocate for the implementation of effective policies and practices to prevent alcohol-related harms on college campuses.