News Releases for March 2006
March 22, 2006
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Hoeven Announces $350,000 U.S. Justice Department Grant To Combat Underage Drinking
2007-2009 Budget Guidelines Address
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven and First Lady Mikey Hoeven today announced a $350,000 U.S. Justice Department grant to assist state and local efforts to discourage underage drinking. The grant, awarded to the N.D. Department of Human Service’s Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, will fund a range of educational and enforcement activities, including the First Lady’s educational campaign, Keeping Youth Alcohol Free.
“Discouraging alcohol and substance abuse begins at home, but our efforts must also reach out into the entire community,” said First Lady Mikey Hoeven. “Funding from this grant will give us tools to work on every front – in our schools, courts, and media – to help keep our children alcohol free.”
The U.S. Justice Department’s “Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Block Grant” will fund the following state activities:
- Juvenile Drug Courts: Funding will support operation and training for juvenile drug courts in Fargo, Grand Forks and Bismarck, and expand them to Minot.
- Public Education and Juvenile Diversion: The Office of First Lady Mikey Hoeven, through her Keeping Youth Alcohol Free initiative, will work with other media efforts both locally and on the state level to provide informational videos, radio or television advertisements, and print media to discourage underage drinking.
- State and Local Enforcement Programs: The North Dakota Highway Patrol will work with local law enforcement for effective programs such as shoulder taps, compliance checks, sobriety checkpoints and other point of purchase operations to prevent alcohol abuse and ensure highway safety.
- Youth Statewide Task Force: Funding will support a new, youth task force to increase involvement by young people in coalitions and activities relating to reducing underage drinking among their peers.
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