Underage Drinking

Underage Drinking Task Forces
In 2006, Rushford received grants from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to organize  Underage Drinking Task Forces in Middletown and Meriden/Wallingford. These task forces are led by Sheryl Sprague, Rushford Prevention Manager, who is working with community leaders in both areas to build effective collaborations that address the causal   factors of underage drinking and to develop environmental strategies aimed at educating parents, caregivers and youth on the risks and consequences of underage drinking.

For a list of members of the Middletown Underage Drinking Task force, please click here.  For the Meriden Underage Drinking Task force, please click here.

The problem of underage drinking in Connecticut
Underage drinking continues to be one of the leading health risks for Connecticut's youth. Young people in Connecticut report that alcohol is extremely easy to obtain from friends, parents, other adults and sales outlets, even though it is illegal to sell or provide it for them. As community members, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to change this fact.  The age of initiation of alcohol use for youth in Connecticut is 11 years old, two years earlier than the national average.  Connecticut's youth also drink at rates 26%-28% higher than their peers nationally. Over half of youth surveyed by DMHAS report that they obtain alcohol at home and one-third report that they can purchase their own alcohol. Alcohol continues to be the No. 1 drug of choice among Connecticut's youth with 47% of 9th - 10 th graders surveyed reporting using alcohol within the past 30 days Easy access to alcohol is the factor which 47% of 11 th -12 th grade students say encourages their decision to drink.

Public support for addressing underage drinking in our state is strong. 86% of adults surveyed agreed that there should be stronger penalties for adult providers of alcohol, especially parents; 68% of adults also say that stronger penalties for youth will deter them from drinking.