August 2021 Task Force Meeting Notes

Members present: Amy Falcon, Debbie Snapp, Dawn Trent, Juan Baez, Christa Roy, Ethel Schneweis, Larissa Craig, and Abbey Martin.
 
Members present by phone: Meeting conducted through Google Meet.
 
Call to order and approve agenda: Amy Falcon.
 
Review and Approval of Minutes: The minutes were not available and will be provided at the next meeting.     
 
Fiscal agent Financial Report: The financial report was not available for the meeting.  
 
Agenda Item 1: Public Awareness: Amy led a discussion regarding the current plans for public awareness: Dodge City Days Festival Guide, Rodeo program, El Dos golf tournament at Buffalo Dunes, and The Dechant Foundation Golf Classic. We will also be increasing out social media advertising, both in platforms as well as dollar amount.
 
Agenda Item 2: Membership: There are no new members at this time. Amy had recruitment packets available for task force members to take with them.
 
Agenda Item 3: Education: Nothing to report.    
 
Agenda Item 4: Data Collection: Nothing to report.  
 
Agenda Item 5: KDADS update: Juan gave the following KDADS update:

• Kansas Treatment Report: There was an increase of total people receiving unduplicated treatment services for problem gambling from FY20 to FY21. This was from 193 to 203. The number from FY21 might still increase however, as all billing might not be turned in yet. There was an age-band increase for those accessing treatment ages 25-44. There was also an increase of residential treatment from FY20 to FY21. 78% of people receiving services were gamblers themselves while 22% were concerned others. There was also an increase in services for gaming disorder.
• Deliverables for the task forces and coalition this year will include an action plan and specific budget for media. All other deliverables will stay the same.
• The South-Central Task Force will host a webinar titled “Gambling & Gaming Disorders and the Youth Factor” on Friday, August 13 from noon to 1:30pm. It will be facilitated by Ted Hartwell with the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling.
• The National Survey of Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences (NGAGE) 1.0 was released in 2018 by the National Council on Problem Gambling. There were approximately 28,000 respondents. It offered insight into how Americans think and act with regards to gambling. NGAGE 2.0. is the follow up survey conducted in April 2021 which examines public perceptions of gambling in the wake of sports betting expansion over the past 3 years. The full results will be published later this year. Expanded Kansas specific results for the survey will be shared by the problem gambling staff soon.
• Operation Responsible Gambling is an initiative of the National Council on Problem Gambling. The goal of Operation Responsible Gambling is to increase awareness of gambling problems among members of the entire military community – veterans, active-duty personnel, family members and concerned others. All the resources can be accessed at operationresponsiblegambling.org.
• The National Council on Problem Gambling joined the Mental Health Liaison Group as an affiliate member. This a coalition of national organizations representing consumers, family members, mental health and addiction providers, advocates, payers and other stakeholders committed to strengthening Americans’ access to mental health and addiction care.
• Responsible Gaming Education Week will take place on September 19-25, 2021. The campaign will highlight responsible sports betting with the theme of “Have a Game Plan”. The campaign was designed by the American Gaming Association.

 
Old Business: Amy, Debbie, Juan, Cindy, Larissa and Dawn attended the Midwest Conference and Amy, Debbie and Juan attended the National Conference.
 
New Business: Amy led a discussion regarding new opportunities to focus on for this year. A brief discussion was held regarding meeting in person versus virtually. This will be discussed again at the next meeting.      
 
Next Meeting Reminder: September 9, 2021
 
Time of Adjournment: 2:30 p.m.