DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES

MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Department of Diagnostic Services is to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Delaware County by assuring a safer community by identifying those persons within the criminal justice system who may have problems associated with alcohol, drugs, psychiatric, psychological, or sexual abuse disorders. The department promotes a positive behavioral change in a professional manner by treating all persons with the highest degree of respect while protecting the confidentiality of each person.   

Diagnostic Services serves as the repository for evaluations and treatment requests for the Court of Common Pleas. Referrals are received from a number of sources within the criminal justice system including Magisterial District Judges, bail, probation, parole, trial, sentencing, Gagnon I and II Hearings. The type(s) of evaluation requests include the Court Reporting Network (CRN) on cases of driving under the influence, drug and alcohol, psychological, psychiatric and/or sexual assault, and the cost associated with each is the responsibility of each defendant. The evaluations are completed either within the department or at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility.

Within the department, a computerized tracking system ensures accurate and immediate information on each case status shared by the District Attorney’s Office, Community Corrections, and Adult Probation and Parole Services. The information includes all driving under the influence cases, the completion dates of the CRN evaluation, the alcohol highway safety classes, and the outpatient intervention requirement. This information is valuable to the District Attorney’s Office in screening fast-track ARD eligible clients where the defendant is required to complete specific requirements within 60 days of the preliminary hearing. It is valuable to Community Corrections in the scheduling of both the alcohol highway safety educational sessions and the outpatient intervention sessions. It is valuable to the Adult Probation and Parole Office because in a high percentage of DUI cases, the CRN, the alcohol highway safety classes and outpatient intervention sessions, these requirements are completed before probation and/or the Court imposes parole. The department also receives DUI referrals from outside Delaware County and outside the State of Pennsylvania. The department then communicates with these jurisdictions to ensure compliance.

The Commonwealth of PA reduced the blood alcohol limit from .10% to .08% on October 1, 2003. The remaining portions of the new DUI law became effective on February 1, 2004. The new DUI statute allows Counties to phase in portions of the law in 2004, 2006, and 2009 relating to the completion of a drug and alcohol assessment.  This has substantially increased the number of 2006 drug/alcohol evaluations because of the Tier 3 first-offenders.

This new DUI statute can be viewed as a wedding-cake structure:

Tier 1 (top layer) - .08% to .099%

Approximately 5% of DUI arrests

Tier 2 (middle layer) - .10% to .159%, crashes/injuries, under 21 years

Approximately 25% of DUI arrests

Tier 3 (bottom layer) - .16% (+), controlled substances, refusals

Approximately 70% of DUI arrests

Of the 70 % of DUI cases in Tier 3 the average blood alcohol level at the time of arrest is nearly .22%.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has provided funding to improve the quality of the Court Reporting Network (CRN) System by changing it to a web-based, electronic system. Therefore, the new system allows the CRN results to be available within minutes of completion instead of 2-3 months for PennDot to process the results. The new Pennsylvania system also allows Counties not only to enter the data electronically but also to retrieve the evaluation results electronically instead of creating paper files.

Title 67 of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code was enacted into law.  It requires all 67 County DUI Programs within the Commonwealth to be certified.  Not only does the program itself require certification but each DUI instructor also must be properly certified.  Title 67 now requires all new DUI instructors to have a bacherlor's degree in order to teach the DUI educational classes.  Current instructors that do not have a bachelor's degree will still be permitted to teach.

In calendar year 2009, 4,464 clients were scheduled to complete a court-ordered evaluation.  Of those 4,464 clients, 3,708 or 83% showed for their appointment and 75% paid for their evaluation.

Diagnostic Services Evaluations