Survey of DWI Courts

NHTSA - Behavioral Safety Researchhttps://doi.org/10.21949/15257982016PDFTech ReportBlock, Alan W.Avar Consulting, Inc.United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Office of Behavioral Safety ResearchUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Office of Behavioral Safety ResearchUnited StatesDrunk drivingCourtsSurveysTraffic safetyMonitoringSafety programsDrug testsProblem solvingDWI Courtproblem solving courtDUIDWIdrinking and drivingResearch HubDOT HS 812 283DTNH22-14-C-00348DWI Courts are a relatively new approach to combatting alcohol-impaired driving that borrows from the Drug Court Model and is directed at repeat DWI offenders and offenders having high blood alcohol concentrations at time of arrest. They attack the source of the problem by taking a comprehensive approach to changing behavior that includes accountability and long-term treatment. NHTSA conducted a web-based survey of DWI Courts and DWI/Drug Courts (court programs that handle both DWI and drug offenders) in April/May 2015 in order to obtain detailed information on how DWI Courts were operating. NHTSA conducted the survey in collaboration with the National Center for DWI Courts, who alerted State Drug Court Coordinators to the survey, supported NHTSA webinars that described the survey, and provided NHTSA with contact information for the court programs. In addition, NHTSA contracted with Avar Consulting, Inc., to develop, test, and manage the data collection website. A total of 156 courts responded to the survey from a contact list of 473. Two indicated that they did not operate a DWI Court, and 21 did not meet the minimum number of DWI cases (5) for survey eligibility. Another 28 began the survey but stopped after completing a small number of questions. This left 105 that filled out the questionnaire from beginning to end. With some exceptions, most participants in the responding court programs were non-Hispanic, White, and English-speaking. Two-thirds of the responding programs indicated that half or more of their DWI participants in 2014 were employed full time. The reported number of DWI participants currently active in the programs ranged from fewer than 10 to more than 200. More than half the responding programs reported fewer than 30 DWI participants; the median number was 25. Most programs said that they had the capacity to serve all convicted DWI offenders eligible to participate in their programs, although one-third reported that was not the case. Where the number eligible exceeded capacity, 56 percent of the programs indicated that the difference was 15 or fewer slots while one-in-six said the difference was more than 75 slots. The vast majority of responding court programs said that treatment and supervision of program participants changes as the participant proceeds through the program, with programs having a minimum of three phases. The median reported amount of time that participants spent in the program before graduating was 17 months. The programs had a DWI Court team involved in decisions regarding the program for DWI participants and in monitoring their progress. Staffing meetings to discuss the participants were held weekly or else every other week. For treatment services, most responding programs referred DWI participants to treatment providers operating independently from the court. Available treatment services usually included counseling, support group services, relapse prevention, and intensive outpatient. Programs tended to integrate mental health and substance abuse treatment for DWI participants having co-occurring disorders. The programs typically drug/alcohol tested the participants multiple times a week during the initial phase of the program. Participants were likely to receive sanctions for positive drug tests and other forms of program non-compliance. The vast majority of programs also handed out rewards for achievements.129