Sample Letter to Governors

Attachment 5

The Honorable Jan Brewer

Office of the Governor

State Capitol, 1700 West Washington

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Dear Governor Brewer,

As Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Chair of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), I would like to thank the State of Arizona for participating in the 2011 survey of State-supported underage drinking prevention programs. This survey was conducted in accordance with the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP) Act (Pub. L. No. 109-422, § 2, 120 Stat. 2890 (2006)), which calls on the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to produce an Annual Report on State-level underage drinking prevention activities, policies, enforcement efforts, and expenditures.

The survey, which was completed by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, was developed in coordination with the ICCPUD’s Federal agency partners and other interested parties. The data collected was then used to produce an Annual Report on 17 State underage drinking laws and policies, the first comprehensive document of its kind. We expect that the 2011 Report, including your state’s contribution to the survey, will be delivered to Congress and made available publicly at www.stopalcoholabuse.gov in 2012.

As called for in the STOP Act, SAMHSA will request that states complete another survey in early 2012 for the 2012 Annual Report. Last year, the individual you identified as responsible for coordinating the State of Arizona’s response to the STOP Act survey was:

Jeanne L. Blackburn

Program Administrator

Arizona Substance Abuse Partnership

If this individual will no longer be available to complete the survey, or if you wish to select someone else, please contact Mr. Stephen Wing, Associate Administrator for Alcohol Policy, SAMHSA, at [email protected] no later than January 31. A sample copy of the 2012 survey is enclosed for your review; submission of your State’s responses will be coordinated through an electronic version of this survey, which will be made available in early 2012 to the individual you identified.

In closing, thank you again for your assistance with this critical initiative. Together we can reduce underage drinking and improve the health of our Nation's youth.

Sincerely,

Pamela S. Hyde, J.D.

Administrator

Enclosure