Prevention coalition reports lower youth substance use measures, plans outreach and lock-box distribution

Don Nelson, listed as a program coordinator for the county prevention coalition, gave a broad update on local prevention activities, surveys and outreach.

Nelson reported compliance-check activity and training: "Last check was a 100% compliant, and prior to that was 87 to 88," and said two recertification responsible-beverage trainings had 11 and 15 attendees. He noted the coalition purchased an updated ID scanner to speed entry checks at events. Nelson also described a DEA-sponsored medication take-back last October that collected "144 pounds of medication," and said another take-back is scheduled for April with the sheriff's department handling the collection.

On prevention campaigns, he described a student media competition called "More Than a Moment" designed to produce PSAs and posters for use on billboards and radio. Nelson reviewed multi-year DFC core measures, saying alcohol use in high school declined from about 32% in 2018 to 7% in the most recent measure and tobacco use fell from 8% to 1%. He acknowledged some variation in perceived risk by grade and urged focused work in middle and high schools.

Nelson described grant match reporting and in-kind accounting: with a $125,000 DFC grant the coalition must report a 125% in-kind match (quoted as $156,000), and he said next year the requirement rises to 150% (quoted as $186,000). Board members asked how volunteer time and agency contributions are tracked; Nelson said he can report only hours that are submitted to his office and that in-kind must be prevention-related activities.