All Rise

Check out this new article by our Impaired Driving Solutions project director Julie Seitz, published in the newsletter for the National District Attorneys Association!

The article highlights the SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) model, an evidence-based approach designed to identify risky substance use earlier, and explores how traffic safety professionals, courts, and public health experts are implementing SBIRT as an early intervention strategy for first-time impaired drivers.

(May 2026)SBIRT and Impaired Driving: A New Opportunity for Early Intervention in the Justice System - National District Attorneys Association NDAA’s mission is to be the voice of America’s prosecutors and to support their efforts to protect the rights and safety of the people by providing its members with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to ensure justice is attained. 

Best read today: this op-ed by alumnus Joe Barsana.

"Therapeutic court did not help me by going easy on me. It helped me by holding me accountable. I had to show up, do the work, stop using and take responsibility for my decisions. At first, I resisted it. Then I adapted to it. Eventually, I grew because of it. That accountability did not break me. It built me. It gave me structure when I had none and taught me discipline I had never learned. It forced me to take ownership of a life I had completely lost control of. Through that process, something new emerged: real empowerment. Not the kind you talk about, but the kind you earn."

Therapeutic courts and diversion work. I'm proof | Op-Ed One of the biggest misconceptions today is that compassion and accountability are opposites. They are not. In therapeutic courts, they work together.

The ultimate cleanup crew on duty in Akron, Ohio!

We spy our director of strategic engagement, Melissa Fitzgerald, at this incredible annual summit of New Mexico alumni! What a beautiful gathering during National . 💪💜