Travis County continued its commitment to diverting people charged with low-level offenses from the criminal justice system at its meeting Tuesday, extending its DWI court diversion programs to September 2025. Those programs, which include treatment and pre-trial diversion for minor DWI cases, are largely funded through an interlocal agreement with Austin Public Health that started last year. The city donated $12,000 to fund indigent participants in the program in October 2023, and this year they’ve boosted that to $60,000.
Much of that funding will be directed toward one of the newest diversion programs, the Transformative Youth Justice Program, which focuses on 17- to 20-year-olds with a DWI charge. That program partners with community organizations like UT’s Steve Hicks School of Social Work, Dell Medical School and Austin Community College, to provide trauma-informed mental health services, peer support and career support. This funding specifically will go toward helping participants procure alcohol monitoring devices, a mandatory requirement for the program, which can each cost $70 to $100 per month. As of July 2024, over 40 percent of active DWI cases in the TYJ Program would qualify for financial assistance to buy them, according to the agenda backup.
Alex Garcia, assistant director for diversion programs and specialty courts at the Travis County Attorney’s Office, told commissioners the funding has two main functions: “First, it makes sure that we have folks on our roads with alcohol monitoring devices, so it provides some public safety. And second, because of the rate of relapse that happens, by being able to alleviate some of this financial burden, we can ensure that there’s a greater level of success. Our youth participants are obviously in a precarious situation, they’re in court for a reason. We’re able to provide a small degree of relief with the financial burden that comes associated with being justice-involved.”
In addition to the Transformative Youth Justice Program, all ages are eligible for the county’s pre-file diversion program. Class B DWI cases and those that involve a single car or don’t involve a collision automatically qualify, but more severe DWI cases like repeat offenders or those with a blood alcohol content (BAC) over 0.20 are not eligible. First-time offenders who complete the yearlong program – which involves counseling, community service and driving with an alcohol monitoring device – will have their charges dismissed rather than result in a traditional probation or conviction. The new funds will also help to expand participation in this diversion program, specifically to those who could otherwise not afford it and who speak a language other than English.
The aim is to “help individuals this program focus on treatment, versus having to focus on things they can’t afford. This is an opportunity for us to provide a little bit of relief for folks that are going through a very tough time,” Garcia said. “We use every bit of this money – we went through it by July of this year. We’re funding two different programs, it’s expanding and we’re growing, and there’s definitely a need here in our community for it.”
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Travis County Commissioners Court: The legislative body for Travis County. It includes representatives from the four Travis County Precincts, as well as the County Judge. The County Judge serves as the chair of the Court.
