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DES MOINES - The Alliance of Coalitions for Change, a state-wide collaboration to effect positive change in substance abuse, met with the state legislators Monday to discuss its concerns about underage drinking in Iowa.

Power Up YOUth from Hamilton County was among the several community coalitions, representing a mixture of Iowa's rural and urban populations at this event. Jordanna Zompa, Zac Sjoberg, and Sarah Scott, coalition members and students from Webster City High School accompanied Kathy Getting, coalition coordinator.

While there they met with Sen. Rich Olive and Rep. McKinley Bailey to discuss policies to reduce access to youth to as an effective means of preventing underage drinking in Iowa.

One strategy proposed to legislators was a Social Host law. Iowa has nine counties and municipalities that have passed a Social Host ordinance, which fines adults who allow minors to consume alcohol on their property. This ordinance makes them just as accountable as if they had physically provided the alcohol.

Multiple prevention strategies are occurring throughout the state of Iowa, resulting in significant decreases in underage drinking. But major problems still remain: Iowa still ranks in the top 10 states for underage (age 12-20) binge drinking defined as 5 or more drinks of alcohol in a row that is within a couple of hours.

The 2008 Iowa Youth Survey showed 27 percent of 11th-graders reporting binge drinking in the past 30 days. This is down from 32 percent in 2005, according to coaliiton information. This remains more than one out of every four 11th graders in Iowa that report engaging in binge drinking in the past month. The rate of underage binge drinking for 11th graders in Hamilton County is at 29 percent - slighty higher than the state average.

Past 30-day use of alcohol and binge drinking numbers are decreasing for Iowa teens, but underage binge drinking is still very high compared to other states, according to coalition officials. Binge drinking in Hamilton County is slighty higher than the state rate, data shows.