Development of the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program

The Mission of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an operating mode of DOT, is to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes, through education, research, safety standards and enforcement activity. To accomplish this, NHTSA awards grants and cooperative agreements to state and local governments, not-for-profit organizations, and other entities in support of motor vehicles and road traffic safety initiatives.

The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement (CA or Agreement) is to support the development and evaluation of the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program. The purposes and objectives of this project include:

Development: The Recipient will develop and enhance the DEC Program through curricula development, science, toxicology, prosecution, research, law enforcement policies and procedures, including officer safety measures and other appropriate means.

· Training and coordinating with law enforcement officers on drug impaired driving enforcement, which includes but is not limited to the Standardized Field Sobriety (SFST) Program, the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) Program and the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program, also known as the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program.

· Liaison with State Highway Safety Offices (SHSO's), DRE State Coordinators, Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors (TSRP's) and other prosecutors, Forensic Toxicologists, law enforcement executives and senior leaders, medical experts, researchers and others as appropriate to identify areas that for further development and/or improvement

Demonstration: The Recipient will test and evaluate specific program components with SHSOs, allied organizations, law enforcement, prosecutors, toxicologists and others as it relates to the DEC Program.

Support: The Recipient will develop the DEC Program by convening a panel of subject matter experts in the application of the SFST, ARIDE and DRE Programs.

NHTSA may enter into an assistance agreement with a State or local agency, authority, association, institution, or person to carry out activities authorized by the Highway Safety Act of 1966, P.L. 89-564, as amended (see 23 U.S.C. § 403(b)(2)(C)).