PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

In Mecklenburg County, impaired driving is an issue of increasing concern. In 1999, there were 3,605 Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) arrests; that number jumped to 4,159 in 2000. During fiscal years (FY) 00/01, there were 2,087 DWI convictions. Based on national research, repeat offenders comprise approximately 25 percent of those arrested for DWI and are involved in over 40 percent of alcohol related-crashes.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the county was to establish a court supervised alcohol treatment program to reduce the number of impaired driving repeat offenders. The DWI Court component would be a part of the Mecklenburg County Drug Court Program as a viable option to deal with impaired driving repeat offenders. The program had been serving DWI offenders since its inception in 1995; however, participants also included drug offenders. Program administrators believed that it would benefit all participants to separate the DWI offenders from the regular groups to allow the court and treatment operations to focus on the dual problems of alcoholism and driving while impaired.

A multi-agency team was organized that would develop the DWI Court. The team consists of the Judge, public defender, district attorney, case managers, probation, and treatment providers. All of the team members work toward providing treatment for individuals, who are in the court system, suffering from drug and alcohol abuse.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

The Mecklenburg County DWI Court program is a court-supervised, intensive treatment program for DWI offenders who have been identified as having a substance abuse problem. The Court program targets individuals who have been convicted of, or plead guilty to, a level 1 or level 2 DWI offense, but will accept a Level 3 offender if there is a strong indication of alcoholism due to an extremely high Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). Level 1 and level 2 DWI offenders are primarily those offenders who have one or more prior offenses over a seven-year period, and whose behavior indicates a problem regarding alcohol use and abuse.

Once an individual has been convicted for a level 1 or 2 offense, the sentencing judge orders the person to undergo an assessment to determine their probability of alcohol addiction. If a person is assessed with a likelihood of addiction, they become a candidate for the program and are offered the opportunity to participate in the program and treatment process. Approximately 80-85 percent of those screened are determined to be eligible for the program.

If a person decides to become part of the program, they are referred to the court’s treatment provider for an in-depth evaluation of their drinking issues. As a result of this evaluation, a plan is devised to place that individual into a structured treatment program. The key difference with this program and most court ordered mandatory treatment is the level of contact that is maintained with the client by the court, probationary, and treatment personnel.

An assigned case manager, a probationary official, and the treatment provider monitor the individual on a regular basis. It would not be unusual for an individual to receive a home visit from a probation officer, be required to report for a case management meeting, and receive required treatment sessions in the course of one week. Additionally, the individual is required to attend a court session every three to four weeks. At these sessions, the judge interviews each participant regarding the course of his or her treatment. Individuals are also required to undergo random alcohol or drug tests required by any of the program providers.

During the course of treatment, which can last from one to two years, there is constant communication between all of the program providers. Case managers, the probation officer, and the treatment professionals routinely meet to assess the progress of each individual. This assessment is then provided to the presiding Judge for use during the required monthly court hearing. This prohibits the individual from “working” the system because each of the participating providers is fully aware of all issues involving the client.

RESULTS

The DWI program allows for 35-50 participants per case manager. Currently, there are approximately 60 persons participating in the DWI treatment program. To-date approximately 52 percent of the participants completed the program with a 90 percent retention rate. There have been no cases of recidivism for DWI for those who have completed the program. Relapses have occurred but none have involved a DWI situation.

Setbacks in the treatment process do not result in termination from the program. If a participant is not doing well, the judge has a variety of sanctions available, ranging from more rigorous treatment schedules to incarceration.

The use of DWI Courts as part of a Drug Court shows promise in reaching these problematic drivers. Drug courts already exist in most urban court systems and they implement a treatment model that can be easily adopted for use in a DWI Court setting.

   SPRING 2002