Workplace

Substance abuse and addiction can strike anyone, even your most valued employees. Did you know that alcohol costs American employers an estimated $134 billion annually in productivity losses, mostly because of missed work? The costs borne by business because of substance abuse and addiction are frequently hidden and can show up in more expensive emergency room visits and more missed work days. These problems can increase your health care costs and reduce the productivity of your workers.

What are the hidden costs of alcohol problems in your workplace? How does alcohol take a toll on your business? What can employers do to lower the business costs of alcohol problems?

Employers can reduce the costs to their business and at the same time help their employees by making a relatively small investment in effective prevention and treatment programming.

There are a number of excellent online resources available to employers to assist you in becoming better informed on the issues of substance abuse and addiction and how to reduce the related business costs of those problems. We invite you to visit some of those resources:

• Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems
• Alcohol Cost Calculator for Business
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Workplace Resource Center

Community

Community Services and Coalitions
The Addiction Resource Council, Inc. works collaboratively with a number of local organizations in providing intoxicated driving-related services with the goal of reducing intoxicated driving and the related consequences in Waukesha County. Our staff also participates on a number of local coalitions, committees and task forces.

Preventing Alcohol Related Crashes (PARC)
The mission of the PARC Task Force is to reduce the incidence of drinking and driving in Waukesha County, making the county a safer place to live and improving the quality of life through a series of outreach activities.

The Waukesha County Interagency Program for the Intoxicated Driver (IPID) Committee
The Waukesha County IPID committee is a committee comprised of county agencies and organizations constituting a forum for the “interagency program for the intoxicated driver.” It includes representation from the Waukesha County Health and Human Services Board, the Addiction Resource Council as the designated assessment facility, local alcohol and other drug abuse treatment programs, law enforcement agencies, the Waukesha County District Attorney’s office, the judiciary, the Waukesha County Bar Association, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Waukesha County Technical College’s Group Dynamics-Traffic Safety School.

The purpose of the IPID committee is to work with Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services and the Addiction Resource Council, Inc. as the designated assessment facility, to provide guidance and oversight of Waukesha County’s intoxicated driver program. The committee meets quarterly.

The Waukesha County Victim Impact Panel (VIP)
The Addiction Resource Council assists in conducting the Victim Impact Panels (VIP) which are held four times per year in English in Waukesha County and two times per year in Spanish. The Council monitors registration and attendance and provides a certificate of attendance for those individuals present.

A Victim Impact Panel consists of victims who speak briefly about the intoxicated driving crash in which they were injured or a loved one was killed. Each panelist tells their story and how their lives were affected by the crash or the death of a family member.  There is generally no interaction between the victims and the audience; however, a question and answer period may follow if the victims are willing to participate.  The audience members consist of people convicted of Driving While Intoxicated.  The Spanish VIP is not a live presentation, but rather a video presentation followed by a brief discussion.

For many of those in attendance at a VIP, this is the first time they have ever been “face to face” with the possible consequences of their actions. For the victims, the panel gives them an opportunity to finally speak out, and perhaps, find some healing in the process. The Victim Impact Panel can be an extremely emotional experience as panelists speak from the heart and share their pain and suffering with those individuals who have driven under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants. Some panelists bring photographs of their family member who was killed by an intoxicated driver and explain how that loss has forever changed their lives. Victims also feel that sharing their stories and pain may prevent another person from suffering by possibly preventing intoxicated driving offenses.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
MADD is a 501(c)(3) non-profit grass roots organization with more than 600 chapters nationwide. MADD is not a crusade against alcohol consumption - MADD's mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.

Wisconsin Community Services (WCS)
WCS in Waukesha County provides pre-trial supervision of persons with a second or subsequent offense for drunk driving in an effort to get them into treatment as soon as possible after arrest. Compliance with the program requirements and treatment may result in reduced jail sentence. The program is aimed at reducing the rate of recidivism among repeat drunk drivers.