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SALT LAKE CITY — It is unclear whether the $2.5 million spent each year to fund Utah's underage drinking prevention campaign makes an impact on decreasing underage drinking, according to a new review from the Office of the State Auditor.
The limited review of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services — the program that oversees Utah's tight governance of alcohol sales — also found issues with how the division tracks and adjudicates liquor violations, discrepancies in inventory tracking and a need for liquor price increases to cover both handling and capital costs to capture more revenue.
But the first review since Utah's alcohol governance agency recently got a name change and new management found "a renewed focus on improving its operations," said State Auditor John Dougall.
We were unable to conclude that greater spending on the campaign translates to a greater reduction in underage drinking.
–Utah Office of the State Auditor
"Our report identifies opportunities to improve the process for monitoring violations and to remedy inventory discrepancies and product pricing issues. Also, while well-intentioned, the Parents Empowered campaign is unable to show how its efforts actually drive reductions in underage drinking. We recommend the campaign identify meaningful metrics to help it accomplish its mission."
According to the review, the Parents Empowered campaign, which began in 2005, has seen funding increases since 2010. But since 2005, auditors said that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that the national underage drinking rate has decreased faster than Utah's rate.
"Comparing the CDC underage drinking rate to the Parents Empowered expenses, we were unable to conclude that greater spending on the campaign translates to a greater reduction in underage drinking. Also, we were unable to conclude that the Parents Empowered campaign directly drives the reduction in underage drinking rate in Utah," the review states.
In a written response to the report, Tiffany Clason, executive director of the department, accepted the auditors' recommendation to continue identifying "key parameters" to drive the campaign to accomplish its goals. But she pointed to data from the Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention survey and another survey the department administers yearly or bi-yearly to parents.
Clason said the department's data shows that the campaign is "one influence among many" that contributes to Utah's declining rates of underage drinking. The campaign's expenses aren't just used for purchasing advertising, she noted, but also fund partnerships with "boots on the ground" programs to reach parents "in the most personal and effective way," she said.
"Currently, the Parents Empowered budget is 0.6% of (Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services) sales," she said, adding that the percentage reflects that "alcohol-related social debris is left behind" as alcohol sales increase.
The nationally recognized Parents Empowered campaign is partially funded by alcoholic beverage sales revenues and provides outreach and abuse prevention messaging. Previous research has shown that parental involvement is the top reason kids don't drink, but the choice is ultimately up to them, which requires consistent and repeated effort.
