Illinois Receives $1.6 million Federal Grant to Address Underage Drinking

Illinois Receives $1.6 million Federal Grant to Address Underage Drinking

Funding will help communities plan and deliver strategies to reduce underage drinking

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) was awarded $1.6 million in federal funding to address underage drinking among eighth to twelfth graders. The five year grant seeks to reduce past thirty-day alcohol use rates and negative consequences of underage drinking in nine communities across the state.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (SAMHSA- CSAP) grant will support agencies and their multi-sector coalitions - which includes at minimum, representation from law enforcement, schools, and governmental officials - to deliver services in communities that have higher rates of underage drinking compared to the state average. Community coalitions will be expected to conduct a strategic planning process to identify the risk factors that lead to underage drinking. Grant funds will also support the implementation of evidence-based strategies known to be effective in reducing such risks.

IDHS will award funds to the following agencies for the first year of the five-year grant:

• Bremen Youth Services, Tinley Park and Orland Park - $37,500
• DeWitt County Human Resource Center, DeWitt County - $37,500
• FHN Family Counseling Center, Jo Daviess County - $37,500
• Human Service Center of Southern Metro-East, Randolph County - $37,500
• Iroquois-Kankakee Regional Office of Education, Iroquois County - $37,500
• Kenneth Young Center, Schaumburg, Palatine and Hoffman Estates - $37,500
• Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago - $75,000
• Oak Park Township, Oak Park/River Forest - $37,500
• Wells Center, Morgan County - $37,500

Underage drinking risks include impaired judgment, poor academic performance, serious injuries, death, and increased risk for physical and sexual assault. In 2010, underage drinking cost the State of Illinois $2.9 billion in legal costs, medical bills, and other expenses that went towards the aftermath of underage drinking.