Vision
Racine County is a place where youth assets are increasing and all youth are healthy, involved and successful members of the community.
Mission
The Racine County Youth Coalition engages agencies, business partners, communities, families and schools, to promote and foster positive change in community practices, public policy, and youth programming in order to build assets and reduce risk behaviors including substance abuse among all Racine County young people.
Interested in joining the RCYC?
Contact Seth Kuranz at Focus on Community for more information.
(262) 632-6200
rcyc@focusracine.org
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 Teaching Children to Drink Sensibly May not be Sensible
The current issue of the Globe (published by the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance) explores new Dutch regarding parents teaching their children to drink sensibly. The entire article appears below. Please give credit to the Globe, Issue 1, 2010. Teaching children to drink sensibly may not be sensible.
The idea that parents can prevent alcohol misuse in their children by teaching them to drink responsibly at home is a popular one in many parts of Europe and elsewhere. But it may owe more to folk law than to science, according to a new study in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
In a study of 428 Dutch families, researchers found that the more
teenagers were allowed to drink at home, the more they drank outside of
home as well. What is more, teenagers who drank under their parents'
watch or on their own had an elevated risk of developing alcohol-related
problems. Drinking problems included trouble with school work, missed
school days and getting into fights with other people, among other
issues.
The findings, say the researchers, put into question the advice of some experts who recommend that parents drink with their teenage children to teach them how to drink responsibly -- with the aim of limiting their drinking outside of the home. That advice is common in the Netherlands, where the study was conducted, but it is based more on experts' reasoning than on scientific evidence, according to Dr Haske van der Vorst, the lead researcher on the study. "The
idea is generally based on common sense," said van der Vorst, of
Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. "For example, the
thinking is that if parents show good behavior -- here, moderate
drinking -- then the child will copy it. Another assumption is that
parents can control their child's drinking by drinking with the child." But the current findings suggest that is not the case. Based on this and earlier studies, van der Vorst says, "I would advise parents to prohibit their child from drinking, in any setting or on any occasion." The study included 428 families with two children between the ages of 13 and 15. Parents and teens completed questionnaires on drinking habits at the outset and again one and two years later. |
FDA May Rule that Energy Drinks Containing Alcohol are Illegal
The safety of energy drinks that mix caffeine and alcohol has been questioned by the FDA. In fact, eight months ago, the FDA asked major beverage makers to provide evidence stating their drinks were safe for consumers. So far, the industry has not provided any information regarding the safety of these energy/alcohol drinks.
"According to the FDA, you have to prove that what you're adding to a
food product is safe. If there's no proof that adding caffeine to
alcohol is safe - that could technically mean these drinks are illegal."
"The FDA needs to determine once and for all if these drinks are safe, and if they're not, they ought to be banned," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in a statement.
"Caffeinated alcoholic beverages are being marketed to American youth and present a potential hazard for our young people," Sen. Jeff Merkley, (D-OR). To read the full story, visit NPR by clicking here.
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Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children
Families,
faith-based organizations, elected officials, Major League Baseball teams and
corporations across the country are gearing up to celebrate the 10th
Anniversary of Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your ChildrenTM
on September 27, 2010. As you may know, Family Day is the national
movement that The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at
Columbia University's launched in 2001 after its research consistently found
that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they
are to smoke, drink or use drugs.
Family Day reminds parents that
frequent family dinners make a difference! We are writing to encourage
you to help celebrate Family Day this year.
There
are many ways that you can show your support of Family Day including:
write about Family Day in your member or employee publications, link to www.CASAFamilyDay.org
from your website, become a fan of Family Day on Facebook, encourage
parents to take the Family Day Pledge at www.CASAFamilyDay.org,
ask local officials to proclaim Family Day or host Family Day
events.
By celebrating Family
Day, you will reinforce your image as an organization committed to the well
being of families.
Together we can
continue championing the fight against drug, tobacco and alcohol abuse among
children and teens and raise healthier kids. For more information about Family
Day, please see the attached fact sheets, sample blurbs and participant
guidelines or visit www.CASAFamilyDay.org.
Please feel free to contact Kathleen Ferrigno, CASA's Director of Marketing, at
212-841-5252 or kferrigno@casacolumbia.org
with any questions.
Thank you for your
consideration.
Sincerely,
Joseph A. Califano
Founder and Chair
The National
Center on Addiction and
Substance
Abuse at Columbia University |
Results of the 2010 Search Institute Profile of Student Life: Attitudes and Behavior Survey
In April and May of 2010, over 7000 students from Racine County participated in the Search Institute Profile of Student Life: Attitudes and Behavior Survey.
A thank you is given to Focus on Community, the Racine Community Foundation, the S.C. Johnson, Fund, and the United Way of Racine County for providing funding for this important survey.
For more information about the survey results and details about implementation, please contact Seth Kuranz at (262) 632-6200.
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Minimum-Pricing Policy aimed at Reducing Binge Drinking
Increasing the price of alcohol, as with tobacco, has been shown to be an effective strategy in reducing underage drinking. Young people in a community tend to be the most price sensitive and even small increases in cost can have large impacts on their behavior.
Below is a story of how price-control strategy is used to change rates of binge drinking in Canada.
The Canadian province of Saskatchewan's minimum-pricing
policy on high-alcohol beverages has resulted in a decline in public
intoxication as well as lower sales of potent products, the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix reported July 6.
The province is among a handful of governments worldwide to set
minimum prices based on alcohol content. The policy has caused the
prices of 36 targeted products to rise by up to 40 percent.
Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority
officials said that public drunkenness and calls to police have
declined in the areas where high-alcohol products are consumed most.
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