2019-060 Austin Sobering Center VisitDate: March 29, 2019 Report No. 2019-060
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
On March 4, 2019, City Council requested a staff report on a recent visit and tour of Austin’s
Sobering Center by City staff and United Way of Denton County (UWDC) staff.
BACKGROUND:
On January 18, 2019, staff sent out Informal Staff Report #2019-007 with research and information
on sobering centers located in Austin, other cities in Texas, and other areas around the country.
In February, while City staff and UWDC staff were in the City of Austin attending the 2019 Denton
County Days, a team took the opportunity to visit and learn more about Austin’s new sobering
center.
DISCUSSION:
The Sobering Center serving Austin and Travis County recently opened in Oct. 2018. The Center
is a Limited Government Corporation (LGC) nonprofit that receives financial support from
the City of Austin and other state grant programs. The Center receives annual funding of $2.8
million with approximately $1.75 million from the City of Austin and additional state funding for
cost reimbursement related to referral services to sober living programs and educational outreach
programs. In addition, Travis County provides the facility for The Center. It utilizes a renovated
space previously occupied by the medical examiner’s office.
Staff with The Sobering Center were open with sharing insights and lessons learned during their
first months of operations. The following provides a recap for what was learned:
• Purpose: The Sobering Center is a physically safe place for acutely intoxicated persons to
be cared for while they sober. It is meant to provide publicly intoxicated persons an
alternative option to incarceration and the emergency room. It is not a treatment center and
does not provide treatment services; however, clients can get advice about their substance
use and be directly connected to individual services they might need to help them reduce
or eliminate their substance abuse.
• Clients Seen: The typical length of stay is 4 to 6 hours and just over 90% are under the
influence of alcohol as compared to less than 10% resulting from drug use.
Staff at The Sobering Center shared that a small minority of patients served are
experiencing homelessness. They shared that approximately less than 16% of patients
seen are experiencing homelessness while 10-15% are college students where it is higher
when college is in session. The remaining patients are from the general population.
• Client Intake: Individuals may only be referred and transported to the facility by law
enforcement or emergency medical services. It is not a place where friends or family
members can bring someone to sober up. If the individual is in commission of another
Date: March 29, 2019 Report No. 2019-060
crime (i.e. assault or DWI) then they are not eligible for admission to the center and the
officer will take the individual to jail.
• Unclear Authority: Current state law is not clear what authority an officer has to release
an intoxicated individual to a sobering center or alternative care. There is state legislation
that The Center is advocating for during this 86th Legislature that seeks to clarify and
expressly state this authority. Rep. Celia Israel (HD 50) filed House Bill 830, a companion
to Senate Bill 306 by Sen. Kirk Watson (SD 14), to clarify the law that an officer may
divert an intoxicated individual to a sobering center in lieu of arrest or transport to the
emergency department. Austin, Houston, and San Antonio provide a place for individuals
to recover from intoxication in a safe and secure environment and are considered a
responsible and cost-effective solution. The Center supports this legislation because it
protects police officers and allows them to continue to use The Center as an alternative to
a county jail cell or emergency room. If enacted it would expressly allow peace officers, in
lieu of arresting an individual, to release that individual into alternative care under specific
situations.
• Scale of Operation: The Sobering Center was developed with space for 40 beds. However,
staff communicated that this is more beds than needed and sometimes makes it more
difficult to manage the space and patients. On average, there are about 40 patients a week
with 3-4 patients per day and during peak days, Thursday – Saturday, 7-10 patients may be
seen per day. As of Feb. 28, 2019, The Center reports serving 1001 patients since it opened.
• Partnerships: Staff at The Center shared that they are working to strengthen their
partnerships with the hospitals and see this as a key element to increasing the effectiveness
of their program. They are researching the option to purchase, staff, and develop
procedures for a vehicle to transport patients from the hospital to the sobering center after
they have been evaluated by a physician and medically cleared of any illnesses or injuries.
If there is no medical reason for the patient to remain in the hospital, the patient could be
cleared and transported to the center to recover and sober up. The Center is also considering
a partnership with the local mental health care provider or adding a Psychiatric Tech
position to its own staff to address mental health issues seen in patients.
CONCLUSION:
The Sobering Center serving Austin and Travis County provides a temporary safe place for
individuals to sober up as an alternative to incarceration or emergency rooms. The collaboration
of law enforcement, fire/EMS, jail, and hospitals is critical to the success of the program and try
to achieve cost savings for each of the entities. While discussing center utilization rates, sobering
center staff highlighted the need to fully understand the impact of intoxication arrests,
incarceration rates, emergency room visits, and other community data to determine if a sobering
center is needed, and at what scale. In addition, while sobering centers have a targeted focus to
support the immediate medical need for individuals to sober up from an intoxication experience,
sobering center staff discussed the need for equal investment in community outreach and
education, screening, and referral/placement to treatment resources and sober living programs for
substance abuse.
Date: March 29, 2019 Report No. 2019-060
STAFF CONTACT:
Sarah Kuechler
Director of Public Affairs/IGR
940-349-8356
sarah.kuechler@cityofdenton.com
Danielle Shaw
Community Development Manager
940-349-7237
danielle.shaw@cityofdenton.com