From:  http://www.newssun.com/news/0103-underage-drinking

Special to the News-Sun

SEBRING -- Underage drinking is a big problem in Florida, costing $3 billion per year, or $165 for each resident, a recent report from the University of Miami determined.

The Department of Children and Families asked the researchers to come up with this number, which includes the damage caused by alcohol-related traffic crashes, the lifetime cost of babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome, and crimes committed by kids under the influence. For Highlands County, juvenile violent crime ranks as the most serious consequence in terms of economic costs to the community.

For Highlands County alone, the cost of underage drinking is $14.3 million when factoring in all the major consequences. As a result, Drug Free Highlands, the county's anti-substance abuse coalition, has been awarded a number of Department of Children and Families State Incentive Grants (SIG) since 2004 focused on efforts to reduce the incidence of underage drinking.

"Florida's youth are our most precious resource," said Bruce Grant, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control. "Early experimentation and drinking during adolescent development, which lasts until the mid-20s, can impact a child's future, and burden our state with tremendous economic and human costs."

In the most recent survey of teens in high school, 31 percent statewide reported having a drink in the past 30 days, a number that has been persistently higher than other states.

The bad news for Highlands County is that the percentage for local youth is 33.7 percent, nearly 9 percent higher than the state's average. This incidence has been on a gradual increase since 2000, when the data began to be collected.

In an aggressive effort to help combat this trend, Drug Free Highlands has worked closely with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office. Compliance checks of retailers were increased as a strategy to check if stores were providing alcohol to teens. The results showed a 98 percent compliance rate, which suggests that most teens are not succeeding in buying alcohol illegally.

Arrests reports as well as self-reporting in teen surveys has shown that most teens obtain alcohol from home, family members, older friends and other adults.

In effort to increase adult awareness of the dangers of this practice, this year the Coalition instituted Florida's social marketing "Be The Wall" campaign in Highlands County. "Be The Wall" was developed to empower parents and other adults with proven strategies to use toward controlling alcohol abuse and other destructive behaviors by teens.

The campaign serves to reinforce the concept that adults need to be clear, firm and consistent when talking to their teens, since parents continue to have the most influence over their child's behavior even at the high school level.

Parents choosing to "Be the Wall" for their children inform and enforce the concept that there will be consequences for negative behaviors. By reinforcing the "Be the Wall" message, adults teach that there are unacceptable dangers not only in alcohol use, but also in other detrimental decisions that teens are prone to make.

In conjunction with parental efforts, other Florida counties are working toward making it harder for minors to get alcohol by setting up designated beer gardens at local events, rather than allowing open containers. As newly elected president Donna Stayton takes over Drug-Free Highlands, the coalition members will be looking at areas where policy changes or ordinances can be implemented that will assist in keeping alcohol out of the hands of teenagers in Highlands County.

Another Alcohol Reduction grant is being administered through the Heartland Educational Consortium and focuses on all ninth-grade students in the county. Also, SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) chapters have been created at each high school. These groups coupled with the curriculum the students are receiving, encourage teen leaders to take the lead with their peers against alcohol abuse and other destructive behaviors.

The Drug Free Highlands Coalition meets from 9-10:15 a.m. the second Wednesday of each month at Florida Hospital Heartland Division in the second floor conference room. Refreshments are provided by Daybreak Behavioral Health. The public is invited to attend.

For further information, visit www.drugfreehighlands.org, contact Stayton at the Health Department, 382-7252, or call Debbie Lees at the Highlands County Sheriff's Office, 402-7312