Training for Alcohol Retailers May Reduce Underage Drinking

Establishments in Garrett County that sell or serve alcoholic beverages are being visited by a team of local advocates who are distributing packets of information designed to train alcohol servers about alcohol laws and regulations. This series of visits will continue through March.

“Educating our retail alcohol beverage establishments with practical information about selling and serving alcoholic beverages safely, responsibly, and legally is a winning option for everyone,” said Sandy Miller, Prevention Supervisor at Garrett County Health Department.  “We hope management learns a lot from the packets and from talking to our team and shares the information with their employees. Workers who understand and follow the laws will have fewer problems at work, and in turn their training may help to reduce underage drinking.”

The Garrett County Health Department started this initiative last year with support from the Garrett County Liquor Control Board. Health department staff trained several Maryland State Police officers as well as members of the Accident Community Planning Group/Garrett County Drug-Free Communities Coalition Action Team.

The training included educational components about: checking IDs, compliance checks, consequence of failing compliance checks, not selling alcohol to intoxicated customers, ID scanners, and future trainings. Participants also learned that adults over the age of 21 often provide alcohol to minors; some even stand outside a store waiting for youth to ask them to purchase alcohol.

The team will also be promoting a new online learning opportunity available to retailers. Participants (servers, sellers, managers, and owners) who take the Alcohol Law Education and Regulatory Training course (ALERT) will learn about alcohol beverage regulatory compliance, answer a 7-question quiz, and receive a certificate of completion. This training complements the state certified training, it does not replace it.

According to the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2016), Garrett County’s underage drinking trends are slowly decreasing, but they are still consistently higher than the state’s rates. For Garrett County high school youth, 36% drank alcohol in the past 30 days compared to 25.5% for Maryland; and 23% reported binge drinking in the past 30 days compared to 13% for Maryland.

For more information about the program call the Health Department at 301-334-7730 or 301-895-3111. This initiative is administered by the Garrett County Health Department through funds from Maryland Department of Health and SAMHSA.

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department