Impaired driving is a problem in Texas, with the state rating above the national average for impaired-driving motor-vehicle deaths. Addressing these offenders with sanctions and rehabilitation opportunities is crucial to reducing that number. This treatment locator website serves as a repository of available resources for criminal justice practitioners to use in making informed decisions about driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenders.
Texas does not collect statewide information on the types of treatment and referral services offered to DWI offenders. Through criminal justice stakeholder interviews, Center for Transportation Safety researchers at TTI learned that each jurisdiction develops distinct referral practices without documenting procedures and sharing them with outside organizations. These findings confirm that a joint effort is necessary among the criminal justice system, the mental health community, and community-based interventions to provide DWI offenders necessary services and prevent impaired driving recidivism. The information in the repository offers a multi-disciplinary approach from the criminal justice continuum, and external treatment partners will give offenders the best chance of stopping their impaired driving behavior.
The Texas DWI Treatment Locator repository serves as a clearinghouse of information on evidence-based sentencing and referral practices, providing access to best practices that can save lives, prevent injuries, and build healthier citizens. Criminal justice practitioners can use this resource to make better-informed sentencing and programming decisions. The repository also serves as a catalyst for informed funding allocation, treatment referral decisions, and appropriate DWI sentencing in Texas.