By Jeff Murphy,
November 20, 2015
WARRENSBURG, MO – One of only four programs in the nation to be recognized, Community
Culture of Responsible Choices, a coalition which includes representation from the
University of Central Missouri, Whiteman Air Force Base, and Johnson County communities,
has received a 2015 National Exemplary Award for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention
Programs, Practices, and Policies.
Representatives of UCM and Whiteman AFB who are part of CCoRC traveled to Seattle,
Wash., to receive the award Nov. 18 from the National Association of State Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. and the National Prevention Network. The award ceremony
took place at the end of the plenary session of the annual NPN Conference.
The award specifically recognizes an initiative that was implemented by CCoRC to reduce
underage and high-risk drinking among Air Force personnel ages 18-26 stationed at
Whiteman AFB. The program was launched in 2009 when the Missouri Department of Public
Safety awarded a subcontract to UCM to implement a Department of Justice Enforcing
Underage Drinking Laws Demonstration Grant. The three-year grant, which was renewed
for three separate years with no cost extensions, provided $750,000 to implement the
CCoRC program. Another $200,000 went to the Missouri Department of Public Safety,
the agency that served as the state coordinator for the project.
“This was an excellent opportunity to build our strong partnership with Whiteman Air
Force Base, while also continuing to work with surrounding communities to address
alcohol-related issues, which are a national health concern,” said UCM President Charles
Ambrose. “Problems associated with underage and high-risk drinking affect many different
groups of society, so it was important that so many people came together locally and
at the state level to contribute to this project. It has certainly laid the groundwork
for what we hope will result in many future cooperative projects, including opportunities
such as Green Dot bystander intervention training with Whiteman and other partners
to address issues such as sexual assault and relationship violence.”
Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets IV, commander of the 509th Bomb Wing, also noted, “We truly
value the strong partnership that has developed between Team Whiteman and the University
of Central Missouri as we seek to address the shared challenges our Airmen and students
face. The CCoRC is integral to fostering good decision making and creating a healthy
culture in our community."
CCoRC is a coalition that consists of about 30 different agencies, including police
and sheriff’s department personnel. It grew out of what was originally known as Warrensburg
Area Partners in Prevention, a local campus-community partnership that was chaired
by UCM, and had a mission to promote the safe and legal sale, service, and consumption
of alcohol in the Warrensburg community. From WAPIP’s inception in 2006, its primary
target audience was UCM students, although Whiteman AFB was an active participant
in the group because underage airmen often live and socialize in Warrensburg. As WAPIP
successfully implemented the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation’s (PIRE)
Community Trials Intervention program, which contributed to positive results regarding
underage alcohol use among college students, the local military base welcomed the
opportunity to implement a modified version of the initiative with airmen as the target
audience.
“We saw significant decreases in underage drinking and high-risk drinking and the
Missouri Department of Public Safety knew about it,” said Amy Kiger, director of Violence
and Substance Abuse Prevention, who helped co-write the grant. “When the request for
proposals came out from the Department of Justice, a state agency needed to apply,
so the Department of Public Safety contacted us to see if we could write the grant
proposal with them.”
This made the EUDL grant possible. It became the impetus for a new coalition that
carried on WAPIP’s work, but more specifically aimed at the military. While implementing
the Community Trials Program at Whiteman AFB, the CCoRC was built into a strong, multi-agency
partnership which was chaired by the commander of the 509th Bomb Wing and the UCM
President. Implementation of this initiative included enforcement operations, alcohol-free
activities, and an innovative, comprehensive education campaign at Whiteman AFB that
combined for several positive outcomes. Among them was a 99 percent reduction in open
container violations among airmen under age 21 – from 212 pre-intervention to only
one post-intervention, and a 93 percent reduction in underage possession – from 617
pre- to 40 post-intervention.
Kiger said the grant made it possible to hire Jeff Huffman, an 11-year veteran of
the Air Force, to serve as local project coordinator, responsible for bringing resources
and personnel from UCM, the base and community together to create a cooperative culture
vital to achieving program objectives. Such efforts included the establishment of
the “Wing It” program to give airmen alcohol-free options for recreation and entertainment
activities. A total of 5,111 airmen participated in activities such as late-night
movies, sporting events, and much more. Some events took place at UCM.
Enforcement activities involved law enforcement personnel in efforts such as training
with regard to appropriate ways to do underage compliance checks, and local liquor
license holders learned about best practices, including ways to check for false IDs.
Covert underage buyer compliance checks also took place as part of the initiative.
Kiger said one of the innovative aspects of the program was that from the beginning
Huffman conceptualized higher education as the ultimate alcohol-free activity. Therefore,
the university made access to campus resources for Whiteman personnel a priority.
While the initiative was in progress, UCM also established the “Whiteman Advantage,”
which included a military tuition package which waives several mandatory student fees
for military partners, and created “Wing Access,” which allows current active duty
and veteran students priority enrollment in classes. UCM also created the Command
Pass to make it possible for active duty military and veterans to attend home sporting
events on campus, and established a one-stop Military and Veterans Success Center
to provide services that assist active duty military, veterans, and their spouses
with their education at UCM.
