CIVIL DLS DIVERSION PROGRAM - Instructions as of July 1, 2013

Recent additions are highlighted in yellow.

INFORMATION TO TRACK

  1. Record information on anyone who enquires about the program in DLS Excel spreadsheet.

ASSIGN CASE NUMBER

  1. Assign a case number using the county abbreviation, last two digits of fiscal year of first contact, and a four digit number beginning with 0001 Example – LE130001 (Lamoille, contact in FY 2013, 1st case)

DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY

  1. After inquiry from a prospective participant, call DMV at 802-828-2050, Ext #2 or Option #2, to determine eligibility for this program. Ask: Is this person under suspension for any of these offenses?
  2. any DWI/DUI or civil DWI/DUI (23 VSA Sec 1201 or 23 VSA Sec 1205)
  3. any gross negligent operation (with fatal, injury or multiples)( VSA Sec 1091(b))
  4. aggravated operation without owner’s consent (VSA Sec 1094(b))
  5. leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury or fatality 23VSA Sec 1128 (b) or (c)

If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” the person is not eligible. Individuals with any number of civil violations are eligible. Gather additional information from DMV via email – see below.

REINSTATEMENT REQUIREMENTS

If person is eligible, gather information from DMV on reinstatement requirements by email. Send the email to AND ; include the participant’s name, DOB, and PID; and attach the DMV form provided by VACDP. The form gathers information to answer these questions:

  1. How many open/outstanding complaints does the person have? [compare this to information obtained subsequently from VJB.]
  2. Are there other names/aliases associated with this PID?
  3. How many points does s/he have?
  4. When are those points scheduled to drop off?
  5. When is the participant eligible to get their license back?
  6. Does the participant need SR22 insurance? If so, until what date?
  7. Does the participant need to take the Vermont permit exam or road test?
  8. Are there any liens against the participant’s license?
  9. Does the participant have any out-of-state violations that affect their Vermont driver’s license?
  10. Are there any outstanding court dockets, municipal tickets, bad checks, or judgments?

FOR THOSE NOT ELIGIBLE

  1. If the person is not eligible, you may want to explain resources and options, such as VJB’s 30/30 plan. If the person would become eligible in the near future after a time-limited suspension ends, you may want to start working with the person.

INFORMATION ON COMPLAINTS & DEBT OWED

  1. After eligibility is determined and prior to first meeting, email VJB to request information on the complaints (tickets) and debt owed by an applicant from the VJB by email.
  2. Send the email to both Gabrielle Lapointe and Dee McDowell &
  3. Use this subject line “Civil DLS Diversion – COUNTY” [e.g. Civil DLS Diversion – Addison]
  4. Include the person’s name, any other known spellings of the person’s name, aliases or former names, and DOB. Do not include any other details.

VJB LIST OF COMPLAINTS

  1. The VJB will send you a report listing all the complaints for an exact spelling and DOB. VJB can only look up records by a person’s name not by driver’s license; DMV can search its records by driver’s license number.
  2. Include all VJB Lists of complaints and docket sheets in the mailing containing the Motion and supporting documents.
  3. The new VJB report format includes for each complaint the complaint number, violation code and description, date of issue, waiver and penalty amounts, and amount owed. If a person has complaints in VJB records under different names, you will receive more than one report.
  4. Take note that some complaints may be paid; the balance for these will be “0.” The number of complaints listed might, therefore, be more than for which the person owes money.

d.  If the amount owed is less than $1.00, VJB does not notify DMV to suspend the driver’s license.

e.  Some VJB complaints may be for violations that do not lead to driver’s license suspension. DMV will not, therefore, have those complaints in their records. VJB requests that all VJB complaints be included in the Diversion contract.

RECONCILING INFORMATION FROM VJB WITH THAT FROM DMV

  1. Count the number of complaints for which the person owes money; if this number is less than the number of complaints provided by DMV, research the reason for this discrepancy.
  2. The most common reason is that DMV has complaints for the same person (same driver’s license) under different names or variations in the spelling of the person’s name. In such a case, email the VJB with the new information, including the complaint number, name spelling, and DOB of the complaints obtained from DMV records, and ask for details on those complaints. You will then receive another “list of complaints” report or a docket sheet for the additional complaints on the DMV records.

b.  See items 7d and 7e above for other possibilities.

  1. If you cannot easily determine the reason for the difference, forward the VJB report to AND

and ask DMV to send you the complaint numbers associated with open suspensions for the participant. After you receive that list from DMV, you can compare complaint numbers on the two lists (VJB’s and DMV’s) and identify missing complaint numbers. You may then need to seek additional information from either DMV or VJB.

PRE-REGISTRATION FORM

  1. Before the first meeting, ask the participant to complete the “Pre-registration form.” This can be done just prior to the meeting. Some of the items on this form (highlighted in yellow) are needed in order to provide data for the evaluation. Other questions relate to the statutory requirement for a screening process and the Self-sufficiency Matrix that VACDP used to inform the screening process.

FIRST MEETING WITH PARTICIPANT

  1. During the intake meeting,
  2. Review pre-registration form with the participant
  3. Ask questions on “Intake Questionnaire” and complete the form (Questions are based on the Self-sufficiency Matrix.)
  4. Review and explain VJB Financial Affidavit to the participant (see #11 below)
  5. Calculate possible offset and relief -- based on preliminary estimate of household income -- using Excel spreadsheet

e.  In the June 27, 2013 version of the Complaint & Debt Summary worksheet (second tab), the payment plan dollar amounts round to the nearest $5.

  1. Develop with the participant a contract focused on repayment of fines and restoration of driver’s license (see # 12 below)
  2. Give participant a copy of the contract to review at home and the Financial Affidavit to be completed, signed, and notarized

SECOND MEETING WITH PARTICIPANT

  1. During the second meeting,
  2. Review the participant’s notarized Financial Affidavit
  3. Make any revisions to the contract based on the notarized Financial Affidavit
  4. Ask the participant to sign the contract and collect a minimum $25 payment towards the Diversion fee
  5. Complete the Motion for Approval (see #13 below)
  6. Verify that the participant’s name, DOB, and other information is consistent on the various forms and that the arithmetic on the affidavit is correct.

FINANCIAL AFFIDAVIT

  1. The financial affidavit is available at http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/eforms/Form228J.pdf.
  2. You may type information in the on-line form and print; you cannot save it.
  3. VT Civil Violation Complaint(s): Enter the same wording that appears on the Motion template: Complaint #s as identified in Attachment A.
  4. Enter information in all spaces. If a participant has no expense or income in a certain category, s/he should enter a zero.
  5. Do not cross out and write other figures above or below – this process quickly makes the document illegible. This document will become a permanent court record and VJB requests that it be clean and legible.
  6. Information provided on this form is for the individual defendant. If s/he is supported by parents or a spouse and has no income, or pays no rent, s/he should enter “0” (zero) in the appropriate places and provide a brief explanation about being supported by parents/a spouse in the contract.
  7. Take time to verify the arithmetic on the form. Check that the figures in the columns above Total Assets and Total Expenses add up to the figures reported.
  8. The financial affidavit must be notarized.
  9. The top row of the Financial Affidavit (cells for Court, Unit No, Circuit/County, Type of Case, Docket No.) are to remain blank.

CONTRACT

  1. Use the template dated May 13, 2013 in bottom right corner of the document.
  2. Add your county’s name, address, contact information, etc. on top line beneath “Civil DLS Diversion Program Contract”
  3. Keep all items numbered as in the template. If a contract does not include a particular item, do not delete the language but strike through the language and put NA in bold at the end of the phrase. For example, if the person is requesting that the DMV reinstatement fee be waived, that wording remains in the Motion and item #9 in the contract will look as follows. 9. Pay DMV reinstatement fee. NA
  4. Put in a figure or “0” for the % of relief or offset. For example, “…eligible for 30% relief of this debt and 0% offset of this debt in consideration for the service and/or education.”

d.  The contract template dated 7/1/13 has an Excel spreadsheet embedded in the payment plan section. Double-click on the first cell of the table, and you’ll see the table is an Excel spreadsheet. As you enter payment amounts, you will see the total of the amounts add in the bottom cell, so you can verify that the payment plan equals the amount owed.

e.  Payment amounts should be rounded to $5 increments and not include any cents.

MOTION

  1. Use the Motion template dated April 1, 2013 in bottom right corner of the document.
  2. Click on grey boxes and enter appropriate information.
  3. You do not need to enter complaint numbers, but make sure that ALL complaint numbers for which the person is seeking relief are listed on Attachment A.
  4. Request that the outstanding judgments’ due dates be extended to the date of the final payment on the payment plan. This date may be more than a year off. The Hearing Officer may issue a court order requiring a new contract and Motion for some point prior to the end of the original proposed contract.
  5. If the person is going to pay the DMV reinstatement fee (item #9 in contract) remove the wording “and (4) notify DMV that the DMV reinstatement fee is waived.”
  6. Include the defendant’s DOB.
  7. The participant and the Diversion staff person’s names must be printed, and both people must sign the motion.

COMPILING & MAILING DOCUMENTS

  1. Compile documents in this order:
  2. Motion
  3. Complaint & Debt Summary (Excel spreadsheet) = Attachment A
  4. Diversion Contract & payment plan = Attachment B
  5. Financial Affidavit
  6. VJB List(s) of Complaints (report provided by VJB)
  1. Documents sent to VJB must include the original signatures.
  1. Mail Motion and attached documents to the VJB, Attn: Gabrielle Lapointe, PO BOX 607 White River Junction, VT 05001. Do not fax or email.
  1. There is no filing fee for the Civil DLS Diversion program Motions.

COURT ORDER

  1. If the VJB hearing officer approves the Motion and issues a Court Order to that effect, monitor contract progress and completion.
  1. If the VJB hearing officer denies the Motion, meet with the participant to discuss modifying the contract to address the reasons for the denial, and submit a new Motion and related documents, or determine that there will be no agreement. Please fax to Willa (or scan and email) copies of contracts not approved.
  1. After a person fails to follow the contract or successfully completes the contract, notify VJB using forms that are currently being developed. These forms should be distributed with additional instructions by mid May.

Payment Guidelines:

o  $25 is due when contract is signed. This is non-refundable and is always credited to the Diversion fee.

o  Diversion collects fee from participant. Diversion reports quarterly to the Attorney General’s Office on fees collected.

o  Payments toward fines and fees owed to the VJB should be paid using money orders. The money orders should be made payable to VJB (Vermont Judicial Bureau) and have the participant’s name and one complaint number written on the money order. Place a copy of the money order in case file.

o  Send money order with copy of the court order approving the contract to VJB. Forward payments in a timely fashion.

o  Other methods of payment may become available in the future.

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Transfer Cases: Cases are transferable between counties. The county within which the participant resides is the county where they must first apply. If the participant requests a transfer, transfer their case to the requested county. Tracking of transfer cases will be the same as tracking Court Diversion court cases.

Waitlists: Prior to placing a participant on a waitlist, provide information about neighboring counties who may have openings.

Instructions as of 7/1/13, page 3 of 4