AUGUSTA – Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services will receive $350,000 in federal grant funding to assist enforcement of underage drinking laws.

The grant from the Department of Justice and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency will support a number of state and local programs already in place, according to U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, whose office announced the grant in a press release.

“Underage drinking inhibits our nation’s youth from achieving their full potential,” Michaud said in the release. “This grant will help law enforcement in Maine combat underage drinking and minimize its harmful effects.”