Core Services - Continued

Drug and Alcohol Testing

All offenders are required to undergo periodic urinalysis testing for drug and alcohol use. Studies have shown that drug and alcohol testing serves as a deterrent to using drugs, at least when detection is linked to a sanction. The goal of testing is to reduce criminal behavior by detecting current drug and alcohol users and deterring their use. The department uses The Cobas Mira Plus System, shown above. This machine is used to test for alcohol, cocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), barbiturates, amphetamines, and opiates. Tests are conducted at the Central Texas Treatment Center Laboratory and is operated by three trained staff members. The machine is capable of testing 150 specimens at a time for a particular drug.

Urine specimens are collected in the Round Rock and Taylor Satellite offices and are transported by CTTC personnel on a weekly basis for testing. Results are obtained within a few days and are hand delivered to the offices by CTTC personnel.

This system replaced the OnTrak® detection system in the Round Rock and Taylor Offices. On Trak® is now used as a back up system and officers are required to get supervisor approval before doing on-site testing on offenders that appear to be under the influence or those suspected of using. The Pre-Trial, Pre-Sentence Investigation, and Revocation Officers continue to use the On Trak® system.

The department primarily tests four drug categories: alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and amphetamines. Other drug tests are conducted if an offender has a history of abusing other narcotics such as heroin or barbiturates. A second test is used to confirm positive results from an initial screening test. Positive samples contested by the offenders are also tested at CTTC.

Pre-Trial, PSI, and Revocation Officers use two methods to detect alcohol usage: an admission of use by the offender and a method requiring the use of an alcohol testing product that detects alcohol in the offender’s saliva or urine. Other CSOs use the former, but have the specimen tested at CTTC for alcohol. Following admission of alcohol or drug use, the officer then utilizes the Continuum of Sanctions as appropriate to the individual.

Testing at the CTTC laboratory provides very reliable results, is more cost effective, and takes less time from the CSO’s, encouraging the administration of more tests. On-site testing provides an opportunity to immediately confront the offenders when a positive result is obtained. While the department administered over 33,000 tests in ‘00, only 1,145 (3%) tests yielded positive results. This is down a half of a percent from the previous fiscal year. The low positive rate can be compared to when the department began on-site testing in 1980 when about 45 percent of the offenders on community supervision tested positive for drug and/or alcohol use.

The following table records the number of tests conducted and the number of positive tests by department.

Community Service Restitution

All offenders are required to perform a certain number of hours of community service restitution (CSR) at nonprofit, charitable or governmental organizations. In fiscal year ’00, 1,935 offenders completed 117,106 community service hours at a variety of settings. Work sites included county agencies, community agencies, schools, churches and nonprofit organizations.

The department began a weekend CSR program in April, ’94, designed to give offenders a CSR location where they can work on weekends and thereby alleviate weekend jail overcrowding. Operating on Saturdays and Sundays, with supervision provided by the Williamson County Unified Road District, offenders work eight hours a day performing a variety of labor intensive projects including picking up litter in parks and on county roads, city beautification projects and working on hike and bike trails. The City of Georgetown joined the program in 1995, utilizing the program for special projects and park maintenance. In addition, CTTC operates an extensive program of community service restitution. In fiscal year ’00, 229 residents completed 49,495 hours of community service.

Alcohol and Drug Assessments and Education

The department contracts with the Williamson County Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse to provide alcohol and drug assessments and education as required by the courts. The Mortimer-Filkins, an evaluation tool that identifies the degree of alcohol usage, is administered to misdemeanor offenders convicted of DWI or to offenders identified by the courts as committing crimes under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The Mortimer-Filkins identifies social, presumptive and problem drinkers and makes recommendations for treatment based on the evaluation and the defendant's prior history. In fiscal year ’00, the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse administered 754 evaluations.

As required by law, state certified administrators conduct a 12 hour program on traffic safety for all offenders convicted of DWI. The course increases the knowledge of the offender regarding alcohol and drugs as they relate to driving skills. In fiscal year ’00, the program served 246 misdemeanor offenders.

Other Adjunct Services

Other adjunct services include the Batterer's Intervention Program, Chronic Anger Management Program, and MADD's Victim Impact Panel.

In order to meet the growing need in Williamson County for domestic violence services, the department contracts with Lifeworks, Inc. of Austin, for a counseling program to treat batterers referred by the courts for treatment.  The Battering Intervention and Prevention Project (BIPP) provides counseling to offenders.  The program offers individual, couples, and family counseling to those court ordered/referred and their families.

The department coordinates and refers offenders for evaluation to the Chronic Anger Management Program (CAMP). The program is a six-session, low-cost option for offenders to teach relaxation skills, calm thinking, assertiveness, and problem solving to manage anger in a more appropriate manner.

Victim Impact Panel

In cooperation with Mother’s Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), the department co-facilitates a victim impact panel each month. The program is aimed at educating drunk drivers on the harms and negative consequences of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. All DWI offenders are required to attend the victim impact panel program. A Spanish speaking program is held quarterly, or as the numbers require. Victims of drunk drivers discuss the consequences of DWI to survivors and to families from the point of view of the victim. The program served 646 offenders in FY ’00.

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