Rapid Response Team (RRT)

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Rapid Response Team (RRT)

• Jim Wright
• Pam Beer
• Dr. Betty Straub
• Alcohol Policy Conference
• Boston, Massachusetts March 2003

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Training Description

• The goal and purpose of a Rapid Response Team.
• The underlying rationale
• What a Rapid Response Team visit involves
• How the Rapid Response Team can assist a community

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Background

• March 1995 Launched pilot project using
  comprehensive strategy in five communities
• Helped communities develop coalitions, conduct
  needs assessments, design and implement
  needs-based strategic plans
• March 1998 Pilot tested rapid response team as
  a tool to assist six communities in developing a
  comprehensive strategy
• March 2002 Conducted rapid response team
  training for state highway safety offices

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The Underage Drinking Prevention Footstool

Prevention
Public Policy
Education

Enforcement
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The Success of The Comprehensive Strategy

• Project Extra Mile, Omaha, Nebraska
• Original 1995 pilot test site
• Successfully planned and implemented
  comprehensive strategy
• Mission statement Create a community consensus
  that underage alcohol use is illegal, unhealthy
  and unacceptable.

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Successful Strategies

• Identified good leaders
• Full-time executive director
• Assembled broad-based coalition
• Conducted comprehensive needs assessment
• Developed strategic plan based on findings from
  the needs assessment
• Insured goals and objectives in the plan were
  measurable

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Successful Strategies

• Provided a continuing, balanced mix of funding
  from public and private sources
• Actively involved youth
• Critical in generating media interest and making
  public policy changes.
• Helped youth see the need to change environment
  provided them with strategies
• Used media to convey message(s)

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Goals of Strategic Plan

• Inform general public on youth alcohol laws,
  penalties, consequences
• Reduce youth access availability
• Increase enforcement
• Improve laws and reduce loopholes in laws

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Evaluation Access, Availability

• Monitored hearings of Liquor Control Board
• Results increased penalties
• Letters to retailers around special community
  celebrations Hands Off Halloween

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Evaluation Enforcement

• All eight metro agencies collaborated on minimum
  of four coordinated compliance checks
• Sought enforcements involvement, listened to its
  perspective, valued its contribution
• Results
• In three years, retailers selling to minors
  dropped from 41 to 19
• 20 increase in minor in possession charges in
  one year

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Evaluation Public Policy

• Successful advocacy for tightening retailing law
• Restricted buying out of suspensions for
  multiple violations of selling to minors
• Doubled length of suspension
• Ensured compliance with federal, state
  regulations on lobbying
• Reduced oppositions arguments by highlighting
  media covering youth making illegal purchases

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What Is A Rapid Response Team?

• A tool that provides communities with the
  information they need to develop realistic and
  effective underage drinking prevention plans
  based on a comprehensive strategy
• Involves four team members with knowledge and
  practical experience in the areas of
• Enforcement
• Education
• Prevention
• Public Policy/Media
• Strategic Planning

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Where An RRT Can Be Used?

• Assist a community in starting an underage
  drinking prevention program
• Help a community respond to an underage drinking
  tragedy
• Strengthen an existing coalition
• Determine effectiveness of existing effort

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What An RRT Can Do

• Ask questions local people cant ask
• Use information from community to develop
  recommendations
• Bring knowledge expertise
• Facilitate team building
• Provide strategic planning framework
• Bring new eyes ears
• Keep big picture in focus
• Bring energy
• Be an effective support tool for the state

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What Do Communities Receive?

• Assistance in completing community
  self-assessment
• Recommendations from experts for ways to improve
  communitys underage drinking prevention effort
• A measurable strategic plan that has buy-in and
  support of the community
• Additional technical assistance via phone, fax
  and email with team members

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Community Responsibilities

• Complete community self-assessment
• Arrange meetings with key community leaders
• Organize a day and a half coalition meeting

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The RRT Site Visit Schedule

• Day One
• Team arrives and meets with site coordinator
• Evening meetings with parents and youth
• Day Two
• Reconnaissance Day meetings with key community
  leaders
• Day Three
• Coalition Meeting Community hears team
  recommendations develops measurable strategic
  plan
• Day Four
• Half-Day Coalition Meeting Community reviews
  strategic plan and determines task assignments
  and time line

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Team Member Qualifications

• Knowledgeable in their field (enforcement,
  education, prevention, public policy).
• Currently or in the past have been practitioners
  in their field.
• Understand and accept the comprehensive
  needs-based approach to underage drinking
  prevention.
• Have experience in training.
• Have experience in strategic planning.

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Community Self-Assessment

• Coalition Checklist
• Data Checklist
• Enforcement Questionnaire
• Education Questionnaire
• Prevention Questionnaire
• Public Policy Questionnaire
• Youth Questionnaire
• Media Questionnaire
• Self-Sufficiency Questionnaire
• Evaluation Questionnaire

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Pre-Site Visit Checklist

• Distribute and collect community self-assessment
  form and return to RRT
• Team members review community information
• Team members prepare short bio on their
  qualifications
• Meetings scheduled with key community leaders
• Day and a half coalition meeting scheduled

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Equipment Requirements

• Team
• Lap top computer
• Notebooks and pens
• Community
• Four flip charts
• LCD projector screen (if possible)
• Copying facilities
• Room for a day and a half coalition meeting
• Refreshments for coalition meeting (if possible)

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Enforcement Meetings

• State and local law enforcement (command and
  street level officers)
• Alcohol beverage control officials
• Juvenile services

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Education Meetings

• Secondary and college/university educators
• Teachers
• Principals
• Safe and drug free schools coordinator
• Professors
• Dean of students
• Health center/substance abuse prevention
• Youth at the high school and college/university
  levels

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Prevention Meetings

• Substance abuse prevention and treatment
  officials
• Businesses that hire youth, i.e., fast food,
  movie theaters, etc.
• Liquor licensees, i.e., bars, restaurants, retail
  outlets
• Churches
• Parent groups, i.e., PTA members or brown/bag
  lunches with parents of underage youth at area
  employer

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Public Policy Meeting

• Elected officials, i.e., mayor, city/county
  council, state legislators
• Judges, prosecutors
• Media outlets

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Reconnaissance Day Debrief

• Each team member meets independently for an hour
  to process the information they learned during
  the day. They summarize their findings into
  several key points.
• Identify an individual to take notes, preferably
  on a laptop computer.
• The team leader asks for the entire group to
  provide community positives.
• Each team member reports out their key findings.
  Group determines, based on the key findings in
  each issue area, what their recommendations will
  be.
• The recorder types up the final recommendations.
  Copies are made for the team and coalition
  members.

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Coalition Meeting Debrief

• Review information developed by coalition
  members.
• Type information on strategic planning grid for
  each issue area.
• Transfer information in grid form to flip charts
  to be hung on the wall.
• Make sufficient copies of information for
  distribution at coalition.

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Funding Requirements

• Team Members
• Compensation for preparation, travel, site visit,
  follow up
• Travel
• Airfare or mileage reimbursement
• Accommodations
• Rental car (if necessary)
• Expenses
• Food