Suffolk County DWI Track

The Suffolk County Drug Court (SCDC) is applying for a Category 3 award to create a DWI/DUI track within its existing post-adjudication treatment court.  The total amount of federal funds requested is $500,000 in order to serve 80 additional participants (20 per year for four years).  DWI/DUI participants must comply with court mandates for a minimum one year on a misdemeanor charge or 18 months for a felony in order to successfully complete the program.  The target population is non-violent offenders who are 18 years of age or older, have a drug and/or alcohol addiction, have been arrested and reside in Suffolk County, are charged with a DWI/DUI offense, and are at substantial risk for reoffending (Standard 1, p3). 

    The SCDC will be collaborating with the Suffolk County Department of Probation and  EAC Suffolk TASC (Standard 8, p3)  to enhance the capacity and service delivery of the existing treatment court to  (1) objectively screen  and identify all eligible participants (Standard 2, p19); (2) administer a comprehensive bio-psycho-social assessment to all potential participants in order to develop an individualized client-centered strength-based service plan; 3) expand the quality and intensity of services by adding a TASC case manager (Standard 9, p8) who will improve the engagement, retention and number of successful completions by providing support, Motivational Interviewing and referrals to  treatment (Standard 5, p5) and ancillary services (Standard 6, p5) based on identified needs (including MAT), and (4) conduct a process and outcome evaluation (Standard 10, p18).  Specialized services for DWI participants will include: electronic monitoring on Secured Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring (SCRAM) for the first 90 days and thereafter, as needed (Standard 7,p5); required installation of Ignition Interlock Devices on all vehicles that they own, operate or have access to; and completion of Interactive Journaling sessions specifically designed for this population. 

    Participants will follow a similar structure as the existing Adult Drug Court model (Standard 3, p5), adhering to the Ten Key Components and the Best Practice Standards of Adult Drug Courts (Standard 4, p15). Suffolk County, NY is not leveraging any other federal funding sources to support the drug court.  The SCDC has been the recipient of two grants from the Drug Court Program Office (planning grant in 1995 and implementation grant in 1997) and a BJA enhancement grant (2005-DC-BX-0021).