EASY

 

UTAH’S ELIMINATING ALCOHOL SALES TO YOUTH ALCOHOL COMPLIANCE CHECK PROGRAM

The primary goal of the EASY program is to curtail the retail supply of alcohol to minors at off-premise retail locations through two complementary methods: providing funds to local law enforcement agencies to conduct alcohol compliance checks and requiring standardized and mandatory retail employee training.

EASY COMPLIANCE CHECKS BY THE NUMBERS

The EASY program started its 8th year in July 2013. With few exceptions, the compliance rate has seen small but steady increases each year.

The Breakdown

During FY2011 the number of compliance checks conducted decreased which may have been caused by the depletion of carryover funds, and concern among law enforcement agencies about continued funding. However, the consistency of conducting the checks held the compliance rate at 90.6 percent. As funding was secured in FY2012, agencies along the Wasatch Front again saw an increase in the number of checks conducted, along with a 92.3 percent compliance rate. FY2013 demonstrated that regularly conducting compliance checks makes a difference in the compliance rate. With 1,877 checks conducted during FY2013 the compliance rate dipped to 91.7 percent.
This information would seem to represent the strongest data yet about the effectiveness of consistency in conducting compliance checks.

EASY RETAIL TRAINING

EASY requires anyone who sells or supervises the sale of beer to complete mandatory training. The Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health administers the training component of EASY.

For more information about the training click here. For a list of approved retail training providers click here.

PARENTS EMPOWERED PROGRAM

The retail supply of alcohol to minors – which EASY aims to curtail – is only a small source of alcohol for minors. The larger source is the social supply – when parents, other relatives or friends provide alcohol to minors.

 

Utah’s Parents Empowered program targets the social supply of alcohol to minors by educating parents about the harms of alcohol use by youth and the skills to help keep their children alcohol free.

Utah’s comprehensive approach to eliminating underage drinking is working – results from the Student Health and Risk Prevention survey show reductions in alcohol use among Utah students.

FOR MORE INFORMATION