SCRATCH Meeting Minutes

November 12, 2014

Welcome and Introductions

Old Business

The Truth About Marijuana Conference The Truth About Marijuana conference featuring Dr. Kevin Sabet was held on Thursday,

October 30th. Some coalition members attended and said it was a great conference. Some attendees

were upset by the pro-marijuana attendees in the front row holding up signs directed at Dr. Sabet, but in

the end were impressed with Dr. Sabet’s professionalism. All feedback from conference goers was

positive and evaluation comments were shared with the coalition (see attached). There were 170 people

registered for the conference and about 120 attended. Cory thanked coalition member Beth Thomas for

doing a great job manning the SCRATCH table at the conference.

Marijuana Legislation

Attached in packet given out at the meeting was a brief summary of pro-marijuana legislation

across the country that was passed during the recent election (see attached). This came from the

Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-marijuana legalization group. There was also a link to an article from

CNN about recent marijuana policies passed.

Key Informant Interview Summaries

Coalition members were given the summary of results from the Key Informant Interviews

performed during October (see attached). The amount of data collected was solid (about 30 respondents

per topic) and interviewee’s answers were what coalition members might expect (that underage drinking

is common, for example). Coalition members are encouraged to review the Key Information Interview

Summaries on their own. The next round of interviews will probably be done in February.

Media Campaign

The SCRATCH Coalition’s logo is on underage drinking billboards and mall kiosks in

Cumberland and Salem Counties. There are currently two billboards in each county with some variation

of the “Underage Drinking: There’s No Excuse,” campaign, which lists common excuses that adults

usually say about underage drinking (“We did it when we were young and we were fine” and “It’s just

one drink” are some examples) inside the outline of a martini glass. To see the actual art of the billboard

and mall kiosk, go to www.issuu.com/scratchcoalition/stacks.

Fake ID Training

We had a Fake ID Training set to happen Friday, Nov. 7 at the Southwest Council offices in

Vineland. There were 10 people registered to attend. However, no one showed up at the training. We’ll

try again in upcoming months.

Tree of Hope

The Southwest Council has been running a Tree of Hope campaign since October, raising

donations for the Southwest Council and Hendricks House. Those who donate $1 or $5, receive an

ornament as a token of appreciation. Ornaments can then be dedicated to someone who is in recovery or

to commemorate someone who has passed due to addiction. The Southwest Council will host a

culminating Tree of Hope event at Southwest Council offices at 1405 N. Delsea Drive in Vineland on

Dec. 15 from 6-8pm. The event will include live music, tree lighting, candle light vigil and speakers

who are in recovery. All are invited to attend the event and encourage others to attend as well. There

will be no December SCRATCH meeting and coalition members are asked to attend the Tree of Hope

event instead.

New Business

Getting to know SCRATCH Members: Amy Hill, Salem County Prosecutor’s Office

Amy Hill introduced herself to the coalition and spoke briefly about her duties with the Salem

County Prosecutor’s Office. Amy is in charge of keeping tabs on people who have been convicted in

child abuse cases. She also classifies them according to Megan’s Law. Cory acknowledged that even

though what Amy does is not directly connected to drugs and alcohol, her presence on the coalition is

invaluable and her connections and suggestions have been very useful to the coalition.

SCRATCH Logic Model Outcomes

As a grant-funded coalition we are guided by the New Jersey Prevention Network (NJPN). NJPN

has enlisted Rutgers University to assist with collecting research about the coalition’s progress. In

efforts to help track the progress of the coalitions, Rutgers has designed a logic model that the coalition

filled in with Problem Statements, Root Causes, Local Conditions, Interventions, Short Term Outcomes,

Intermediate Outcomes and Long Term Outcomes. The logic model has been a work in progress for the

past two years, but is now getting more solidified. As a coalition, we have a lot of leeway to do all types

of interventions and initiatives, however, in order to track our effectiveness over time, we have to have

measurable short term outcomes set that result in corresponding data. All the current outcomes were

given to the coalition members (see attached). While various ideas and initiatives that are not included in

the outcomes have value to the coalition (membership building and getting our name out there) these

short term outcomes are the things we will have to account for in our evaluation plan in a few years.

There is also an emphasis on policy change, since that can bring about sustainability of the coalition’s

efforts even after the coalition is gone. It is important for all coalition members to know about the

outcomes and keep them in mind when planning future events and interventions. All members are

encouraged to read through the outcomes thoroughly.

Rx Drug Drop Box Magnets

New magnets were created that have the addresses of the prescription drug drop boxes in Salem

County on them. The magnets are in the shape of a prescription bottle and in full color. Cory asked for

coalition members to volunteer to deliver the magnets to Salem county pharmacies in the next month or

two.

Funeral Home Policies

One of our short term outcomes is to “Increase funeral homes that have policies to deliver

information about proper Rx drug disposal to all clients.” A packet was created for distribution to

funeral home directors. The goal of the packet is to inform directors of the problem of prescription drug

abuse and to encourage them to agree to implement a policy of informing client of proper drug disposal

and nearby prescription drug drop boxes. The packet included an agreement for funeral home directors

or owners to sign, as well as sample information to be distributed. Cory asked for coalition members to

volunteer to deliver the packets to funeral homes in Salem County (the CCHCC will be delivering to

Cumberland County). The packets will be delivered in the next couple of months.

New Promotional Items Coming!

New promotional items with the SCRATCH logo on them have recently been ordered.

SCRATCH members were given a large nail file in a sleeve that has the SCRATCH logo and website on

them. In the upcoming weeks we are expecting more items that can be given away during community

events or informational fairs.

Community Involvement Agreement

All SCRATCH members were given a new Community Involvement Agreement to complete.

The form asks for information such as which sector the member represents and their contact

information. This form is just for SCRATCH coalition records.

We did not have time for work groups and just went right into roundtable announcements.

Member Roundtable

Connie Cossaboom (volunteer) : Connie acknowledged Jane and Ashley of the Southwest Council for

their work on the recent Town Hall Meeting in Vineland. She said they really went above and beyond

and created a nice atmosphere with flowers and stress balls as gifts.

The Cumberland Mental Health and Addictions Board is holding a Community Conference with

Abby Bradway and Melissa Niles (a fellow SCRATCH coalition member) as speakers. If you’re

interested in attending, you are encouraged to register so they have enough appetizers.

Beth Thomas (CC Dept. of Health): The health department is busy with the flu season upon us. The NJ

Department of Health and the New Jersey Poison Information and Education Systems (NJPIES) have

partnered to open a 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, toll-free information line for the general public who

have questions regarding the Ebola virus. The number is 1-800-962-1253.

Jane Taylor (The Southwest Council): There will be a Town Hall Meeting about prescription drug

abuse on Nov. 20 from 6-7pm at the Laurel Lake Fire House. Dinner will be served.

Mark Anderson (CC Prosecutor’s Office): The office is busy preparing for the Southern Regional Anti-

Violence Summit on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Luciano Center at Cumberland County College.

Kim Burns (Tobacco Free for the Healthy NJ): On Thursday Nov. 20th

is the Great American Smoke

Out. Pittsgrove schools will participate. The middle school will do a poster contest and the younger kids

will do the Hands of Hope. Completed posters will be on display at the Inspira Medical Center in Elmer.

The IMAC meeting for November is cancelled. The next IMAC meeting will be Dec. 10 at 11am. There

hasn’t been a lot of movement on ordinances in October, which was expected because of elections. Kim

distributed brochures about IMAC. CVS has reported profits since they became CVS Health, which are

attributed to people showing their support for the decision to not sell tobacco products.

Quinn Ingemi (Southern NJ Perinatal Cooperative): The data report for the first quarter just came out.

They have been going into schools to do programming. They are reaching out to wineries to get

messaging about neonatal abstinence syndrome. Quinn spoke of the need to create a collaborative to

create policies and best practices guidelines.