Assessment of 2007 Client Outcomes for the Center for Driver's License Recovery & Employability

Abstract

In 2007 the Center for Driver’s License Recovery & Employability (CDLRE) began providing assistance on a referral basis to Milwaukee County residents with suspended and revoked driver’s licenses. The Center operates out of the Milwaukee Area Technical College downtown campus, with residents referred to the CDLRE by a network of over 25 community agencies, courts, and government offices. The CDLRE contracted with the Employment and Training Institute to provide an independent assessment of the client outcomes for the period from April through December 2007. The CDLRE successfully targeted a very high risk population. All 454 clients completing service in 2007 had incomes below 200% of poverty, 93% were minorities, two-thirds were males, a fourth had not completed high school, and 16% had been incarcerated in state correctional facilities. The clients had multiple challenges in regaining their driving privileges: 96% faced financial costs (court files, filing and reinstatement fees, and other costs), 50% faced 3 or more categories of legal barriers; 38% lacked a driver’s license (and needed to take their written and/or road test); and 35% were required to obtain SR-22 proof of liability insurance (an expensive hurdle for low-income drivers). Success rates for the first group of 454 clients completing service in the program in 2007 were very high, with 51% obtaining their driving privileges.