142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Summarizing Characteristics of Local Social Host Ordinances in a Sample of Municipalities from Twenty-Two U.S. States

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 3:10 PM - 3:30 PM

Beata Debinski, MHS , Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Kimberly G. Wagoner, DrPH, MPH , Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Dylan Ellerbee, MPM , Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Mark Wolfson, PhD , Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background: Social host laws are utilized to hold individuals responsible for underage drinking events on property they control. These laws can be passed at the state or local level. To date, no study has described characteristics of local social host ordinances.

Methods:  The study sample was based on 274 communities from 22 states that participated in the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Evaluation and/or Community Trial between 1999 and 2007. A protocol to search online municipal code repositories and websites was developed and implemented beginning in summer 2013 to collect local policies related to underage drinking, including social host ordinances.  When codes were unavailable online, the study team followed up with local officials to access copies of local policies. Final follow-ups are currently in progress. The study team also created a codebook to extract characteristics of social host ordinances organized around seven key variables: civil and/or criminal law, party size, property type, host type, knowingly clause, exculpating factors and penalties. All of the identified ordinances will be coded.

Results: To date, 49 municipalities have an ordinance addressing social hosting. Twelve of the 22 states have a state social host liability law. We will report descriptive data on the characteristics of all social host ordinances found in our sample and descriptively compare these to existing state laws.

Conclusion: This study will report on the commonality of local social host laws among a sample of municipalities across the country. It will summarize key features and discuss their implications for successful ordinance implementation.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe commonality of social host liability laws among U.S. municipalities.

Keyword(s): Alcohol Use, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a masters-trained public health professional. I am working on this study as a research assistant under the direction of my co-authors. My co-authors have extensive experience with implementing and evaluating the impact of public health policy and programs on alcohol use, specifically among underage individuals.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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