In March 1989, the New Jersey Legislature created the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and an Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
The Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse is dedicated to a comprehensive and coordinated effort against alcoholism and drug abuse. The Alliance is a means for implementing polices to achieve this end. To accomplish the purpose of the Alliance, a network comprised of all counties and communities in New Jersey has been created.
In this regard, each municipality may establish a Municipal Alliance Committee or join with one or more municipalities to create a Municipal Alliance Committee. This committee, in consultation with the Local (County) Advisory Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse shall identify alcoholism and drug prevention, education and community needs. The Municipal Alliance Committee may implement programs. Municipalities in compliance with proposed guidelines may become members of the Alliance effort and shall become eligible to receive state funds to assist the programs developed by the Municipal Alliance Committees. Funding for the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse is provided by Drug Enforcement Demand Reduction (DEDR) fines. These fines are collected from persons convicted of drug related offenses.
The structure which is now standing in each of New Jersey's 21 counties consists of a Local Advisory Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (LACADA) and a county alcoholism coordinator, who among other duties, acts as a staff person to the LACADA as well as the liaison to the State. The county alcoholism coordinator develops an alcoholism and other drug abuse needs assessment and reports back to the LACADA on the status of services within the county.
Alliances, made up of municipal volunteers, comprise grass roots prevention efforts, which are established in most of New Jersey's 567 municipalities. This law defined and encouraged the establishment of Municipal Alliance Committees. These committees are comprised of local leaders/municipal employees and private citizens who want to be involved in preventing alcohol and drug related problems in their communities.
The purpose of the Old Tappan Municipal Alliance Program or "The Committee For A Drug Free Old Tappan" is to provide a mechanism whereby policies and programs to provide community based alcoholism and drug education and public awareness activities are to be developed and implemented at the municipal level. The Old Tappan Municipal Alliance Committee are community members who will develop the goals and objectives of the Alliance in their community.
PROGRAMS SPONSORED SINCE 1989
