Community Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse to be Created in Manalapan

The Manalapan Township Committee passed an ordinance Wednesday night establishing the Manalapan-Englishtown Community Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

According to the ordinance, the alliance’s “mission is to provide consultation, programs, training, and resources to the and communities with the goal of preventing and reducing the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.”

The ordinance stipulates that the alliance will be a permanent committee which establishes an agenda for each meeting, adopts bylaws, keeps minutes, permits public comment, has a quorum to take action, and abides by the NJ Open Public Meetings Act.

The alliance will be composed of up to 30 members, meeting on a quarterly basis, the ordinance reads. Membership of the Manalapan-Englishtown Community Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse must include representatives from:

• Township Committee
• Board of Health
• Township’s Board of Education or a designated BOE staff person
• Township Police Department
• each Parent-Teacher Organization (on a rotating basis so that only one representative is a voting member at any given time)
• Student Assistance Counselor
• local civic association
• local religious groups
• a senior citizen resident
• substance abuse gtreatment organization
• substance abuse prevention organization
• juvenile Conference Committee
• local business
• the youth community
• as well as any other private citizens of the community

Besides forming a network of municipal leaders, representatives from human service agencies, and private citizens in an attempt to promote drug and alcohol prevention and education, the ordinance lists other responsibilities of the alliance, including assessing the township’s drug and alcohol abuse issues.

The alliance will also identify existing alcoholism and drug abuse reduction efforts in the municipality, coordinate projects in order to avoid fracture and identical programs, develop programs to be implemented within the township or for the township to participate in regionally, and to assist the township in financing any programs, the ordinance said.

The ordinance indicates that the alliance will cooperate with the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, the County Local Advisory Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the Alliance Steering Subcommittee in providing them relevant municipal information required by the County Annual Municipal Alliance Plan.