COUNTYWIDE : Fees to Aid Program for Drunk Drivers

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors has decided to use a $300,000 windfall in fees collected from convicted drunk drivers to hire three staff members and purchase extra office equipment for a counseling program to help the offenders.

The extra $300,000 came as a result of improved collection procedures approved last year by the county Corrections Services Agency, said Steve Kaplan, director of the county’s alcohol and drug programs.

As a direct result of the new collection procedures, the Drinking Driver Program has increased its collections by 52% from last year, Kaplan said.

County officials have also increased fees collected from drunk drivers to offset the costs of the counseling program, which has been expanded from 10 hours to 30 hours for first-time offenders and from 12 months to 18 months for repeat offenders, he said.