Thursday, March 8, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Announces Federal Funds to Fight Underage Drinking
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt today announced the Department of Public Safety has competitively awarded more than $220,000 to combat underage drinking across Missouri.
"The number of Missouri youth who use and abuse alcohol is alarming," Blunt said. "These federal funds will help control and limit the number of young people from purchasing and abusing alcohol."
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, over 1 in 10 Missouri youth between the ages of 12 and 17 have engaged in binge drinking within the last month. Only nine other states have an equal or higher rate of underage binge drinking.
The grants to local Missouri law enforcement come as part of the federal Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Program and will be used by police, sheriff and university safety departments this year to prevent underage drinkers from purchasing or consuming alcohol.
Local jurisdictions will use the grant money to pay officers overtime for activities such as retail compliance checks, party patrols, youth oriented driving-while-intoxicated checkpoints and other enforcement or educational tasks.
EUDL funds are appropriated by Congress, and are awarded to states by the U.S. Department of Justice, through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). In Missouri, the Department of Public Safety is the designated state agency to receive and administer EUDL funding.
For a complete list of 2007 EUDL awards and amounts visit the Department of Public Safety's internet site at www.dps.mo.gov. For more information about the grants contact Terri Durdaller with the Department of Public Safety at 573-751-4819.