FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Allen Circuit Court’s Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated (OVWI) Court has received full certification from the Indiana Supreme Court’s Office of Judicial Administration.
Received this week, certification follows a year-long development and review process. Allen Circuit OVWI Court is Indiana’s first certified OVWI focused problem-solving court. A provisional certification was issued in July 2020 for the OVWI Court to begin accepting participants. OVWI court has had 107 participants to date.
Allen County Commissioners released the following:
OVWI Court is focused on those charged with drunk driving as a Level 6 felony. Participants entering the OVWI Court are supervised by Allen County Adult Probation in partnership with other local community agencies. Circuit Court received a conditional certification in March, 2021, authorizing the OVWI Court to continue the delivery of services as a certified Problem-Solving Court until a final on-site review could be conducted this week.
“This collaborative effort with our community partners makes Allen County a safer and healthier community,” said Circuit Court Judge Wendy Davis, OVWI, Court’s supervising Judge. “With a Veterans Court, a Mental Health Court and now an OVWI, court, Circuit Court is changing lives every day. I’m pleased to receive full certification and am extremely proud of my team for all of the hard work and dedication they’ve put into reaching this milestone.”
OVWI Court employs evidence-based supervision strategies, including medication-assisted treatment, substance-use disorder treatment, safe and sober housing and cognitive-behavioral therapy programs. Each strategy is designed to positively impact high recidivism rates normally associated with the drunken driving offenders. Participants who successfully complete the 30-month program are eligible to have their felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor or dismissed altogether.
