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Risk Reduction Program

What is the Risk Reduction Program?

The Risk Reduction Program (RRP) is an education/intervention program mandated by law for people convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI), possession of illegal drugs, underage possession of alcohol while driving a motor vehicle, or Boating Under the Influence (BUI). The goal of the RRP is to help each person reduce the risk of future health and impairment problems created by alcohol and/or drug use, especially drinking and driving, and to understand and accept the need to make the necessary changes to avoid these problems in the future.

How does the program work?

The first step is a standardized assessment to determine the person's level of involvement with alcohol or other drugs. The second step is completion of the 20-hour Risk Reduction curriculum. The curriculum dispels common misconceptions about how alcohol and other drugs affect the body, what it takes to become impaired and who can have a problem. Using persuasion, the curriculum teaches participants how to make choices about their alcohol use that will lower their risk of having problems. The program teaches that abstinence is the only choice for persons with alcoholism or who use illegal drugs. Several predictors of those most likely to continue drinking and driving were identified as a result of a study conducted over a five-year period by Emory University's School of Medicine. The assessment results and these identified predictors of repeating the same offense are discussed as part of the program curriculum.

Any person convicted of a second DUI in five years after July 1, 1997 falls under the Multiple Offender Program. These individuals must undergo a clinical evaluation and, if indicated by the evaluation, complete a substance abuse treatment program to be eligible for driver's license reinstatement. The results of the standardized assessment completed as part of the Risk Reduction Program then become part of the clinical evaluation.

For more information on the Risk Reduction Program of Georgia, visit www.garrp.dhr.State.ga.us.