The numbers are in and drug and alcohol use levels among Bernards Township students exceed the national average. According to the 2009 American Drug & Alcohol Survey, taken by Bernards Township students, 63 percent of Ridge seniors said they had consumed alcohol in the past month (above the national average of 43 percent) and 28 percent said they used marijuana in the last month (above the national average of 19 percent).

The Municipal Alliance met Tuesday and discussed strategies to reduce those numbers. The group agreed on developing a unified message, but disagreed on the goals that should be set to achieve alcohol and drug abuse prevention.

The Message

While complete control of the problem would be ideal, the focus of the Municipal Alliance will be primarily to delay the first-use rates of Bernards Township adolescents.

According to studies cited by the Alliance, the younger a person starts drinking, the more likely they are to binge drink, experience black outs and develop addictions. The Alliance also cited a study that claims adolescents who start drinking by the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop an alcohol addiction by age 20. Brain studies have indicated that the brain continues to develop into a person's mid-twenties, and that alcohol use can negatively impact the development of teenage brains, according to the Alliance.

The group was unified in the pursuit of developing one consistent message that they could take to parents, community members and Bernards Township youth. The next step for the Alliance will be for Kathy Kelly and Lucy Forgione of the Bernards Township Health Department to craft a first draft of the message. Much of the rest of the meeting was spent discussing different ideas on how to communicate that message once it has been created.

Strategies for Success

"We need to develop a message that fits our audience," Township Committee liaison John Carpenter said, suggesting that the Alliance develop age-appropriate versions of the message to communicate to groups of students.

The Alliance discussed grouping students based on similar pressures and concerns rather than traditional groupings, such as middle school and high school students. "A sixth grader is very different from an eighth grader," Carpenter said.

The group also suggested developing a laddered approach to drug and alcohol prevention curriculums, emphasizing asking questions and having students consider the effects of substance abuse on their own.

"I have heard three people say something with which I couldn't agree more – 'consequential'," Dorothy Schleifer said. "Let them think about the consequences… if we can get them to stop and think… so they see the consequences and they can think through what could happen because of their behavior, in the long term it will pay off."

Several members expressed a desire to raise awareness among students and parents about potential consequences that are talked about less frequently, such as that college applications often require disclosing past drug or alcohol-related convictions.

"In certain places they might say, 'I don't care if I get into college,' but not here," Kelly said. "In Basking Ridge, the college [admissions] process is very competitive."

The Goals

The Alliance was split on the goals the group should set. Carpenter said, "This year I think the Municipal Alliance is going to be a little different. We're going to be more active." Carpenter introduced the concept of setting the goal of introducing the message developed by the Municipal Alliance to 100 percent of families in Bernards Township schools.

Several Alliance members were in favor of the goal, while others were concerned about the ability to measure success.

"I like it as a strategy and I like it as a message, but when it actually comes down to evaluating it, I don't know how we are going to measure it," Barbara Bush, Student Assistance Counselor at William Annin Middle School said. Ronnie Weiner, Somerset County Municipal Alliance Coordinator, and Monique Loh, Citizen Representative to the Municipal Alliance also expressed concern with the 100 percent goal, questioning how the group will determine if they reach all families.

Bush suggested setting a goal of raising the average age of onset for drug and alcohol use in town by one year, which is a number that the township can monitor through surveys taken at the school each year. "We haven't touched the age of onset in 15 years," Bush said, advocating a push to achieve a measurable result.

The Municipal Alliance will continue to discuss strategies and goals at their next meeting on April 6 at 6 p.m. All meetings are open to the public.