$24 Million in Underage-Drinking Enforcement Grants Awarded

Block grants totaling $24 million have been awarded to states under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws program.

Each state, territory and the District of Columbia received $360,000 under the formula grant program administered by the Office of Justice Programs. The states of Missouri and Wyoming also received $1.9 million in discretionary grants to prevent drinking by underage members of the military, and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation was awarded $2 million to provide training and technical support on underage-drinking enforcement to program grantees.

The money can be used to “support law enforcement, public education, and coalition-building activities to address underage access to and consumption of alcohol,” according to the grant announcement. The Justice Department program is the only one within the federal government focused exclusively on preventing underage drinking.