Alcoholics Anonymous Reviews

In 2007, nine kids died in alcohol-related car crashes in South Dakota, a statistic only softened by the fact that it was an improvement over 2006, when the number was 13.

Community leaders gathered to discuss the problem at a poorly-attended town hall meeting on teen drinking Thursday at Pathway in Mitchell.

Smith said Davison County has “run the gamut” on its responses to underage drinking. He outlined the differences between the more punitive adult criminal court response to drunk driving and juvenile court’s efforts to turn kids around.

When the juvenile courts deal with kids they consider more than punishment, Smith said.

“It’s more about how can we help this young man or lady to see things differently,” he said. Such programs are often more strenuous than those faced by adult DUI offenders.

Nevertheless, DUI’s continue to be a problem, said Smith, who believes the relative effectiveness of a program has little to do with its consequences.

“I think it’s the (steps) that are taken before tickets are written that are making the difference,” he said, stressing the importance of parental involvement.

Oetken agreed and said studies have shown that kids whose parents model moderate and responsible use of alcohol have fewer drinking issues than children who come from a home where alcohol is modeled in extremes — that is, parents who drink no alcohol and parents who exhibit alcoholic behavior, respectively.

There needs to be more education for teens on the physically damaging effects of alcohol on a child’s physical and mental development, said Oetken.

Overweg said it takes time to turn around community attitudes about the importance of enforcement efforts, but he believes those efforts are paying off. He said there were 171 citations issued in 2007 by Mitchell police for underage drinking, a number down from 253 in 2005.

Majeres said the VOA’s “Parents First” program proved effective in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties in the past year and the program will be expanding statewide this Monday.

“If a parent can’t handle their child’s alcohol problem alone, they have to know there are others out there to help them,” he said. “That’s how a community can grab hold of its alcohol program.”

Mothers and fathers, said Majeres, have to be role models for their children and lead by example.

“We targeted parents and grandparents with the program and we found kids were paying attention as well,” he said.

Research shows that kids whose parents are involved in their lives are less likely to develop drinking issues, he said.

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