Support for Probation Services for DWI Offenders

Background

In 2018, there were 36,550 motor vehicle fatalities and 29 percent of them involved an alcohol-impaired driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter or more. Alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes are 4.5 times more likely to have prior convictions for driving while impaired (DWI) than those with no alcohol. It’s estimated that a drunk driver will operate a vehicle 80 times under the influence of alcohol before their first arrest and, thereafter, DWI offenders have shown a recidivism prevalence of 31 percent for arrests and 31.5 percent for convictions. Additionally, in NHTSA’s most recent National Roadside Survey conducted in 2013 and 2014, 22 percent of drivers surveyed tested positive for potentially impairing drugs.

NHTSA supports law enforcement to deter, detect, and arrest DWI offenders. NHTSA has developed programs that also focus on the role that prosecutors and judges play in reducing impaired diving. Recently, NHTSA has supported demonstration projects in post-conviction programs (probation, parole, and community-based corrections) to evaluate whether they may reduce recidivism among impaired driving offenders. These programs are staffed by professionals that this NOFO will refer to as “community supervision providers.”

Community supervision providers offer a unique position in the surveillance, rehabilitation and the reintegration of DWI offenders. Specifically, community supervision entities have the capability to utilize the Impaired Driving Assessment (IDA) tool to assess DWI offenders for risk of recidivism and refer them to proper treatment when necessary. Community supervision members can also serve as a liaison to other key criminal justice entities such as state and local probation organizations and correctional facilities. This criminal justice network can be leveraged to educate the greater probation community on the intricacies and issues regarding the supervision of DWI offenders.

Purpose

The purpose of the Cooperative Agreement (CA) is to develop and measure the effectiveness of a probation program that supervises Driving While Impaired (DWI) offenders to reduce recidivism. Specifically, NHTSA will provide assistance to support training, technical assistance, information sharing, and development among community supervision professionals. This support will be used to assist the Recipient in demonstrating the effectiveness of tools such as in-person and web-based education and training, and other activities to the probation community related to the following topics:

· Best practices for State and local community supervision providers in managing DWI offenders;  

· Promotion of empirically supported tools and products aimed at improving assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, integration, and the reduction of recidivism of DWI offenders;

· The collection of alcohol and drug impaired driving recidivism data;

· Significant and emerging issues related to supervision of DWI offenders; and

· The identification of future needs of the supervision community as it relates to DWI offenders.

Additionally, the Recipient will offer insight on the community supervision perspective at meetings with impaired driving stakeholders by remaining engaged with criminal justice professionals such as law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, pretrial, probation, and parole officers.

Miscellaneous

• Other