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Every Fifteen Minutes
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Introduction
The "every 15 minutes" program was developed in 1995, by the Chico Police Department with the help of grants funded by the California State Office of Traffic Safety to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). "in 1996, the chico police department was awarded the excellence in community policing award by the national league of cities for its efforts" (ABC & OTS, pg. I-4). On January 1, 1999, Governor Gray Davis announced that 72 grants all totaling to $288,000 would be provided to agencies that use alcohol prevention programs, such as the "every 15 minutes" program. Each grant would be limited to the maximum amount of $4,000 per agency.

Statement of Need
The program received its name from statistics gathered in the 1990's that stated that every 15 minutes someone in the United States dies from an alcoholic related accident. Today, statistics show that we lose one life in the United States every thirty minutes. The amount of deaths decreased with the help of programs like the "every 15 minutes" and organizations that work together to help educate on alcohol use. Teens make up most of the deaths that are caused each year. "the three leading causes of death among adolescents are accidents, suicide, and homicide--have all been linked to alcohol use," (Laurent, Caranzaro, and Callan, 1997, pg. 644).

The community, schools, parents, and programs could make a difference and save many lives through the use of alcohol education. Organizations such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) are programs that have helped with the decrease of deaths due to alcohol. "schools must increase parent and community involvement in their alcohol and other drug prevention programs to maximize the effectiveness of these programs" (Favorini & Pryor, 1994, pg. 155). Since the "every 15 minutes" program forms partnerships with parents, schools, students and the community, it is known to be effective.

The program educates and challenges junior and senior students to make better choices about alcohol and drunk driving by a re-enactment of a mock crash and the amount of people who die per day in the U.S. It takes about 8-10 months of planning with the help of the community before the two-day process takes place. The community consists of law enforcement, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, California Highway Patrol, local hospitals, emergency responders, schools, businesses, and other agencies. Students are elected as part of the "living dead" by applications. Students applying must have parents who are willing to participate.

Description of the Intervention
On day one, throughout the day, a student is removed from class every 15 minutes by the "grim reaper." This student represents the "living dead." Once the student leaves the classroom, their obituary is read to the remaining students by a police officer and counselor. Their obituary is posted in the classroom to remind the students of their classmate's death. While this is taking place, a uniformed officer visits his/her parents at home or work to notify them of their death.

The "living dead" gets their faces painted white and is given a T-shirt with the "every 15 minutes" logo. The student then posts their tombstone on school grounds, which is considered their own cemetery. Students who are part of the "living dead" do not return to class and are not allowed to communicate with anyone.

A mock crash is presented and it begins with a pre-recorded 911 call. Law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, and coroner all rush to the scene and do a real life response. Paramedics treat a student who is critically injured and is pulled out of the vehicle by firefighters with the help of the "jaws-of-life." The second student is given a sobriety test and is arrested at the scene. The third person is pronounced dead at the scene. The deceased person is put into a body bag and taken by the coroner in a hearse, which is than followed by the "grim reaper" and the "living dead". Once the mock crash is over, a real life experience tour is given to each of the crash victims.

The student who is critically injured is rushed to the hospital where s/he experiences what a real victim would go through. S/he dies on the operating table and his/her parents are notified of his/her death. Doctors ask the parents if they are willing to donate their child's organs. The drunk driver is booked into jail and parents are notified. Law enforcement treats him/her like real life DUI criminal. The deceased student is taken to the morgue, still in the body bag, and parents are called in to identify the body.

At the end of the whole process, students are taken to a retreat, where they participate in skill building activities. Speakers are invited to talk about how they have been affected by alcohol and drunk driving. Students at the retreat can't have any contact with anyone. The first day ends with the students writing letters to parents and family of what they would have said before they died. At this point many of the students become very emotional and need counselors support.

On day two, the "living dead" return to school where they attend an assembly. All people involved sit in seats facing the rest of the school. Right at the beginning the "living dead" walk in a single file line, placing a flower on a casket that is present. They sit in front of the community's people and face their parents and classmates also. The assembly begins with an edited video of the events in day one. Some of the "living dead" and parents share their letters that they wrote to one another. Many other speakers are invited to talk about how they are affected by alcohol and deaths. At the end of the assembly, students are reunited with their parents.

We were supposed to help with coordinating the retreat for the program, but because there was not enough people to work with all the three schools with the program; we ended up coordinating the whole program for one of the schools. We attended meetings throughout the whole year to prepare for the program. We helped put tombstones and obituaries together. We helped the "living dead" put on their make-up and were present to help those who needed counseling services. At the retreat, we helped with the activities and we participated in putting the assemblies together for all the three schools.

Evaluation of the Intervention
We worked with three schools, and their experience with the program went very well. We would agree that this program is a great way to have students think twice about their actions. We believe that the program does make a difference. As of today, no studies have been done to determine how well the program works, but a study is in progress and a Child Development class in a university conducts it. Statistics do show that the amount of fatalities has decreased in the past few years, but we are not aware of the effectiveness of the program itself. We believe that this program should be implemented at every high school possible. Some of the students don't take it seriously and see it as a joke, but for the most part we think it does have a great impact because these same students at the assembly or after the retreat have a different attitude towards the whole program. The fact that the community forms partnerships with other organizations makes the program real and possible. We believe that instead of just targeting the juniors and seniors, that the sophomores should also be participants because this is the year they first get their driver's license, and they need the education before they make a fatal mistake.

Reflections on the Project
We would recommend anyone to participate in this project, because it is a great learning experience. We were able to see the drastic changes in the participating students and that was a very good feeling. The three schools we worked with were all rivals and by the end of the program all the students were supporting one another. Some students that were having problems with other classmates asked for forgiveness from their enemies. They felt that if they were to die, they did not want people to remember them as their enemies. It was also reported in our debriefing meeting that some students had gone to a party, but instead of drinking, they helped those who were intoxicated to get home in a safe manner by providing them a ride. Being part of this program, you get to meet new people from different agencies. You get to work in-groups and learn how to compromise. Most important of all you get to make a difference in the lives of adolescent students.

References
Copeland, L.A. & Shope, J.T. (1996). Factors in Adolescent Drinking/Driving: Binge Drinking, Cigarette Smoking, and Gender. Journal of School Health. 16(3), 155-171.

Favorini, A. & Pryor, C. (1994). Family-School Alliances: A centerpiece Strategy for Alcohol and Drug Prevention Programs. Social Work in Education. 16(3), 155-171.

Hingson, R. (1993). Prevention of Alcohol-Impaired Driving. Alcohol and Health Research World. 17(1), 28-41.

Laurent, J., Caranzaro, S.J., & Callan, M.K. (1997). Stress, Alcohol Related Experiences and Coping Preferences: A Replication with Adolescents of the Cooper et al. (1992) Model. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 58(6), 644-657.

Stroh, Jay R. (1998). California State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Every 15 Minutes Program. http://www.doc.ca.gov./Programs/PM_15_MINUTES.SSI (1999, April 14).

Stroh, Jay R. (1998). California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control & California Office of Safety Procedural Manual: A "how-to guide for communities dedicated to reducing teen drinking and driving. EVERY 15 MINUTES. 1st edition, v – v-12.

Stroh, Jay R. (1999). State Department of Alcoholic Beverage. Powerful Teen DUI Program Gets Big Funded Boost. http://www.doc.ca.gov/TANGO/TANGO/.ACGI$/PRESSRELEASES.QRY?f4/19/99=dtai (1999, April 14).

Interviews

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