The Youth Leadership Institute published a report in February 2011 entitled, “Implementing Marin County’s Social Host Ordinances”. The report provides data on the frequency of police department usage of the law as well as recommendations from law enforcement about how to increase the effectiveness of the law.

The Social Host Accountability Ordinance has spread quickly across the County and has become an important tool by which communities are changing norms and tackling teen binge drinking. To measure the impact of the implementation and enforcement of the Ordinance, the Department has engaged MK Associates—an Independent Evaluator—to monitor and track the passage of the ordinances and their impact in local communities. The following are examples of outcomes that have been achieved to date as a result of implementing the Social Host Ordinance.

• The Marin County ordinance has been enforced 14 times to date, addressing not only teen drinking, but also assault, theft, cocaine and weapons possession, and alcohol poisoning. The City of San Rafael has addressed two teen house parties which involved property damage, and theft of a handgun. These violations reflect the ordinance’s ability to also mitigate other health and safety risks for youth and the community.
  
• Three paid media campaigns on the Social Host Accountability Ordinance have been conducted. One immediately following the passage of the County ordinance, a second when four communities had passed the ordinance and a third when the Surgeon General issued a national call to action for communities and parents to address underage and binge drinking.
  
• The issue of the social host ordinance has received extensive earned media coverage across the County, including 66 articles and several editorials in support of the issue from the Marin Independent Journal as well as five additional articles in the Mill Valley Herald, The Ark, the Pacific Sun and the Ross Valley Reporter.
  
• The Sherriff’s Department has worked with staff from the Department of Health and Human Services to augment their electronic reporting system and database to better track incidents in the community which involve underage youth and alcohol, including the new ordinance. Since this system is shared among a number of police departments in the County, this will allow for significantly increased data collection and tracking of underage and binge drinking issues.
  
• The Department of Health and Human Services has worked with the Youth Leadership Institute, Bay Area Community Resources, the Marin County Office of Education and the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Collaborative to provide training and technical assistance to seven new communities that have introduced and passed versions of the ordinance. These include Corte Madera, Larkspur, Sausalito, San Rafael, Fairfax, Ross, and Mill Valley.


Status of Implementation in Local Communities in Marin County



Status and Elements of Social Host Accountability Ordinances in Marin County
Town/City	Effective Date	Criminal Components	Civil Components	Fine – 1st Offense	Fine – 2nd Offense	Fine – 3rd Offense	Cost Recovery Fee	Community Service Option
County Unincorporated	11/17/06	No	Yes	$750	$1,500	$2,500	Yes: No Limit	Yes
Corte Madera	4/15/08	Yes: Misdemeanor $1,000	Yes	$750	$850	$1,000	No	Yes
Fairfax	10/17/07	No	Yes	$750	$875	$1,000	Yes: $1,000 limit	Yes
Larkspur	4/3/08	Yes: Misdemeanor $1,000	Yes	$750	$850	$1,000	No	Yes
Mill Valley	3/4/08	Yes: Misdemeanor $1,000	Yes	$750	$850	$1,000	Yes	Yes
Novato	Prior to 2000	Yes: Misdemeanor $1,000	No	n/a	n/a	n/a	Yes: On Second visit: $2,000 limit	No
Ross	3/13/08	No	Yes	$750	$1,000	$1,000	Yes: No Limit	No
San Anselmo	1/7/93	Yes: Misdemeanor or Infraction $1,000	No	n/a	n/a	n/a	Yes: On Second visit: No Limit	No
San Rafael	10/31/07	Yes: Misdemeanor or Infraction	Yes	$250	$312.50	$375	Yes: No Limit	No
Sausalito	3/26/08	Yes: Misdemeanor $1,000	Yes	$750	$850	$1,000	Yes: No Limit	Yes
Tiburon	Prior to 2000	Yes: Infraction	No	n/a	n/a	n/a	Yes: On Second visit: No Limit	No
Belvedere	9/8/08	No	Yes	$750	$875	$1,000	Yes	No