Otter Tail County DWI Court Program

The purpose of the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program (42 U.S.C. 3797u et seq.) is to provide financial and technical assistance to states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to develop and implement drug treatment courts that effectively integrate substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services in a judicially supervised court setting with jurisdiction over nonviolent, substance-abusing offenders. The FY 2010 Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program will provide grant funds to jurisdictions to implement or enhance a local drug court or to improve, enhance, expand, or financial support drug court services statewide.

The Judiciary Courts of the State of Minnesota will use drug court funds to enhance the efforts of the Otter Tail County DWI Court program. Otter Tail County was recently identified as having one of the highest rates of motor vehicle related deaths and serious injuries involving alcohol in the state. In response to this epidemic, the drug court was developed to assist non-violent offenders with successful rehabilitation from the use of alcohol and drugs. Through the grant, the Otter Tail County DWI Court will build upon its abilities to serve more offenders by expanding the number of hours worked by surveillance and probation officers monitoring participants; providing additional services and enhanced case management for participants to include transportation to health care and other social services, and work force training; and providing training for court staff on the latest drug court research and best practices techniques. Individuals participating in the program will be assessed a fee, a portion of which may be earned off or credited by complying with program guidelines. Incentives, as well as sanctions for non-compliance will also be used, and frequent alcohol and other drug testing will be continued during the program.

CA/NCF