Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol

What is CMCA?

CMCA is a community organizing effort designed to change policies and practices of major community institutions in ways that reduce access to alcohol by teenagers. Click here for a brief summary of the program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for an FAQ about the CMCA model program. Also, keep reading below for more information.

CMCA Implementation/Program Fidelity

A community organizing approach is best implemented for at least 4 or 5 years continuously to have the necessary time to achieve policy change.

To implement a community organizing project based on CMCA:

• Hire a qualified community organizer
• Form a local strategy team
• Develop a specific organizing strategy
• Select alcohol policy and enforcement targets
• Mobilize citizens of the community to push for those targets
  
  Note: Implementation steps and organizing processes will vary by community given local policies and politics, demographics and available resources.

Evaluating your Efforts

Focus on whether your community successfully mobilized citizens (click here for a sample strategy team survey), and whether you achieved policy and enforcement changes in the community.

Possible ways to measure enforcement include:

• Collect police data to assess frequency of:
  • citations of alcohol outlets
  • underage alcohol purchase attempts
  • alcohol-related arrests of youth
• Conduct your own alcohol purchase attempts to measure propensity of outlets to sell alcohol. Click here for a sample alcohol purchase attempt data collection form.

Costs

The CMCA community organizing approach has a low yearly cost, and costs vary greatly by community and circumstances.
Approximate costs may include:

• Initial set up of organizer with laptop computer, printer, supplies: $3,000/one time
• Monthly expenses, photocopying, food for strategy team meetings, cell phone(s), travel, mileage, etc. $300-500/month
• Salary and benefits for community organizer: $40,000/year

Training and Resources

To request training please visit the Youth Leadership Institute web site at:

http://www.yli.org

phone: 415-836-9160 ext. 246

email: training@yli.org

Resources available on this web site include CMCA FAQ, published papers, model ordinances, alcohol policies . All CMCA materials and resources are freely available for adaptation by other communities seeking to reduce youth access to alcohol, reduce teen drinking, and reduce the health and social problems associated with underage drinking.

Other Community Organizing Resources

A useful handbook for practitioners:

Bobo, K., Kendall, J., & Max, S. (1991). Organizing for Social Change: A Manual for Activists in the 1990s . Santa Ana, CA, Minneapolis, MN, Washington, DC: Seven Locks Press.
To order call: 1-800-354-5348.

Additional readings:

• Alinsky, S.D. (1971). Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals . New York: Vintage Books.
• Kahn, S. (1991). Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders . Washington, DC: National Association of Social Workers.
• Minkler, M., ed. (1997). Community Organizing and Community Building for Health . New Brunswick, New Jersey, and London: Rutgers University Press.

  Web sites:
  
  http://comm-org.wisc.edu/

• What is CMCA?
• CMCA Summary
• Frequently Asked Questions
• CMCA Strategy Team Survey
• CMCA Buyer Form