Strategies

Offer group educational, social, creative, musical, or physical activities that promote social interactions, regular attendance, and community involvement among older adults

Enable law enforcement to immediately take the license of a driver who fails or refuses to take a chemical test for alcohol

Restrict the content and placement of alcohol advertisements on broadcasts, outdoor displays, internet marketing, etc. via state laws, local ordinances, industry self-regulation, or a combination of efforts

Provide information and increase motivation to change or prevent problematic alcohol consumption in a short session; also called alcohol screening & brief intervention

Limit the days alcohol can be sold in on-premise settings such as bars and restaurants or in off-premise outlets such as liquor and convenience stores; sometimes with limits to times of sale

Limit increases in the number and concentration of alcohol outlets by area or by population through licensing or zoning regulations

Increase the price of alcohol via taxes levied for beer, wine, and liquor purchases

Set legal limits for drivers’ blood alcohol concentrations (BACs)

Implement checkpoints where law enforcement officers can stop drivers suspected of drinking and driving and assess their level of alcohol impairment

Provide free and confidential counseling and service referrals via telephone-based conversation, web-based chat, or text message to individuals in crisis, particularly those with severe mental health concerns

Establish an ongoing relationship between an older youth or young adult and a younger child or adolescent, usually an elementary or middle school student

Hold alcohol retailers legally responsible for injuries or damage caused by providing alcohol to intoxicated or underage customers; also called commercial host liability laws

Limit or ban alcohol establishments from serving alcohol at a reduced price as part of promotions; also called happy hour restrictions

Use specialized courts to offer criminal offenders with drug dependency problems an alternative to adjudication or incarceration

Provide at-risk expectant parents and families with young children with information, support, and training regarding child health, development, and care from prenatal stages through early childhood via trained home visitors

Provide confidential worksite-based counseling and referrals to employees to address personal and workplace challenges

Initiate or increase retailer compliance checks, shoulder tap operations, parking lot observation outside alcohol establishments for laws that prohibit alcohol sales to minors

Support organized social, art, or physical activities for school-aged youth outside of the school time

Use specialized courts to work with parents involved in the child welfare system who may lose custody of their children due to substance abuse

Support fathers’ active involvement in child rearing via various father-focused or family-focused interventions

Teach parenting skills in a group setting using a standardized curriculum, often based on behavioral or cognitive-behavioral approaches and focused on parents of at-risk children

Provide home visiting services to families who are at risk for adverse childhood experiences, starting prenatally or right after birth and continuing for three to five years

Strengthen policies that mandate ignition interlock installation in vehicles to prevent operation by a driver with a high blood alcohol concentration

Establish a relationship between an older adult and a child, adolescent, or college student through social interactions or a variety of educational and art activities

Use mass media campaigns to persuade individuals to avoid drinking and driving or to prevent others from doing so; campaigns often focus on the negative consequences of alcohol-impaired driving

Provide an 8 or 12 hour training to educate laypeople about how to assist individuals with mental health problems or at risk for problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders

Maintain the current legal age when an individual can purchase alcoholic beverages; currently 21 years in all states

Distribute Naloxone to trained community members and first responders to reverse opioid overdoses

Provide home visiting services to low income, first time mothers and their babies, starting during pregnancy and continuing through a child’s second birthday

Support outdoor pursuits and adventure-based activities that emphasize inter- and intra-personal growth through overcoming obstacles (e.g., challenge courses, wilderness excursions, etc.)

Use databases, housed in state agencies, to track prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II, III, IV, and V drugs and other controlled substances

Bring people with diverse values and perspectives together to engage in facilitated, inclusive, and informed dialogues about a topic of public concern. Examples include Citizens’ Initiative Reviews, deliberative polling, citizen juries, and citizen’s assemblies.

Educate owners, managers, servers, and sellers at alcohol establishments about strategies to avoid illegally selling alcohol to underage youth or intoxicated patrons

Support individual and group use of internet-based tools to receive news, communicate or share information, collaborate on ideas, mobilize networks, and make collective decisions

Provide objective, normative information to reduce college students’ misperceptions about alcohol use and, ultimately, change their drinking behavior

Coordinate access to services across delivery systems and disciplinary boundaries (e.g., housing, disability, physical health, mental health, child welfare, workforce services, etc.)

Provide sterile injection equipment and often other treatment and referral services to people who inject drugs; also called needle or syringe exchange programs and needle syringe programs

Provide all students with the information and skills to prevent alcohol use; programs can be delivered via a specific curriculum or as a component of classroom behavior management

Increase the number of registered voters through initiatives that reduce barriers and expand accessibility, including automatic voter registration (AVR), voter registration drives, easing voter registration requirements, and expanding registration sites

Increase voter turnout through get-out-the-vote campaigns and initiatives to make voting more convenient such as allowing early in-person voting, vote-by-mail, or expanding polling locations and hours

Teach students attitudes, skills, knowledge, and behavior needed to participate in and contribute to a democracy

Provide youth with leadership building opportunities, often through social activities such as advocacy groups, peer education, youth-led participatory research, and local government youth advisory councils and boards