NABCA Awards
Wyoming Liquor Division
Training for Intervention Procedures
Award Year
2019-2020
Supplemental Award $50,000
Focus Area Regulatory | Enforcement
The Wyoming Liquor Division (WLD) has historically provided training to servers who manage alcohol sales, but it is voluntary under current state law. However, 2017 changes to Wyoming’s alcohol beverage control laws led local licensing authorities to update their codes to align with state law, and many chose to make alcohol server training mandatory at the local level, increasing the requests on WLD training resources. The WLD requested a budget exception from the 2020 legislature, which was initially granted; however, the pandemic presented a major challenge to the Wyoming economy, and all state agencies needed to cut their budgets. The WLD used its award to continue providing alcohol server training to Wyoming’s liquor license holders, bridging a funding gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
WLD contracts with the Wyoming State Liquor Association to coordinate the Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPS) alcohol server education program in Wyoming. The TIPS alcohol server training is a four-to-five-hour course that teaches students how to prevent drunk driving, curb underage purchases, manage alcohol-related problem situations, and gain a thorough understanding of Wyoming alcohol laws. The training helps servers learn how to collaborate with law enforcement when problems do occur and how to encourage alcohol safety and ends with a 40-question test. The program has trained over 37,000 people over 20 years, ranging from servers to legislators to concerned citizens.
Since local jurisdictions updated their codes, WLD has received significantly more alcohol server training requests from across the state, but the current budget did not cover the funding needed to meet all the requests. The award allowed the WLD to continue to provide alcohol server education, in collaboration with local community coalitions and the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police. Continuing to provide alcohol server education guarantees that Wyoming establishments with liquor licenses will be fully prepared to continue operation as the economy safely reopens following the pandemic.