WISCONSIN SPECIFIC INFORMATION

• Changing Wisconsin’s Alcohol Environment to Promote Safe and Healthy Lives (PDF) (ACE Report): A Wisconsin State Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (SCAODA) workgroup selected 49 separate opportunities improve Wisconsin’s alcohol environment.  The recommendations are divided by the groups or organizations able to make changes to the local alcohol environment independently.  
• Wisconsin Epidemiological Profile on Alcohol and Other Drug Use, 2014 (PDF): A compilation of alcohol and other drug use data from various sources, including trend information for previous years and U.S. comparisons when available. County-level data tables are included to assist in developing local needs assessments.
• Impact of Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use in Wisconsin (PDF): A report on the burden of alcohol and drug use in Wisconsin, including prevalence, morbidity, mortality, criminal justice, and economic costs.
• Alcohol Policy Glossary (PDF): A summary of the various terms and jargon associated with alcohol policy.
• Alcohol Licensing Process Chart (PDF): Chart and two page explanation of alcohol license conditions.
• 2017 Youth Risk Behaviors Survey Summary report (YRBS) for Wisconsin (PDF)

Wisconsin Specific Policies

In Wisconsin, there is no state law or rule limiting server alcohol consumption.  Wisconsin places most of the responsibility for alcohol control on municipal government; accordingly local ordinances prohibiting intoxicated servers have been adopted by some communities to prevent and sanction alcohol impaired servers.  This memo (PDF) examines the five Sober Server ordinances in effect in Wisconsin on January 1, 2014.

While no single law can solve all alcohol related problems, a group of policies and practices selected to address specific community problems can reduce alcohol related problems and the resulting municipal expense.

• Underage Under the Influence Ordinances in Wisconsin (PDF): It is legal for youth in Wisconsin to consume alcohol in the presence of their parents.  Law enforcement agencies have increasingly reported that when intoxicated youth are located by officers they assert they are intoxicated as a result of alcohol consumed with their parents.  Two communities adopted ordinances making it illegal for underage youth to be in public with measurable blood alcohol if a parent is not present.   This summary examines the elements of each ordinance including how alcohol consumption is established.
• Public Impairment Ordinances in Wisconsin (PDF): Wisconsin does not have a state law prohibiting public intoxication.  Two campus communities adopted different approaches to the problem of individuals who are so seriously intoxicated that they pose a risk to themselves, create public disorder or are vulnerable to harm.  This summary compares the basic elements of both ordinances and highlights the differences between the two approaches.
• Operating Alcohol Age Compliance Checks in Wisconsin (PDF):  Alcohol age compliance checks are an effective approach to reducing alcohol availability to underage youth.   Because Wisconsin regulates alcohol licenses locally, determining whether local retailers obey minimum legal drinking age laws is a municipal concern.  Learn what age compliance checks accomplish, how other Wisconsin communities use them and how community groups work with local law enforcement to support ongoing operations.
• Outlet Density: Limiting the Concentration of Retailers Selling and Serving Alcohol in Your Community (PDF): When too many locations sell alcohol in a compact area alcohol related crime and disorder often result.  All communities that have alcohol sales have a level of alcohol outlet density; it becomes an issue when an over-concentration creates alcohol related problems.  This summary explains outlet density, how residents can identify local outlet density and some policy options for controlling outlet density.  This summary complements the Department of Health Services publication Alcohol License Overview for Wisconsin which includes municipal and county level density outlet density statistics.

THE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON ALCOHOL-RELATED PROBLEMS

• Binge Drinking Prevalence, Frequency, and Intensity Among Adults — United States, 2010: The CDC reports on binge drinking behaviors at the state and national level. 
• Environmental Strategies to Prevent Alcohol Problems on College Campuses (PDF): A guide to aid in intervention selection and implementation for alcohol abuse prevention on college campuses.
• Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility: The first national strategy to prevent and reduce underage drinking includes recommendations for communities and schools.
• The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking: In addition to the full report, publications specifically for parents, educators, and community leaders describe the six goals set the Surgeon General and steps to reach them.