The Department of Coroner began presenting the Youthful Drunk Driver Visitation Program (YDDVP) in 1989. The program, authorized by the California Vehicle Code § 23145, is intended to serve either as a condition of probation or alternative sentence. The program was designed to have two separate components, encompassing an evening in an emergency room of a local trauma hospital and a brief but powerful visit to the Department of Coroner.

The visit to the Department of Coroner consists of four segments and lasts about three hours. The presentations are currently offered four times each month. Unless there is a conflict with a holiday, the presentations take place on the first Friday, second and third Saturday and last Wednesday of each month. At the present time, the third Saturday is conducted in Spanish.

The presentation is organized as follows:

1. Introductions, an overview, followed by a short discussion between offenders and facilitator. Then a brief 35mm slide presentation that covers the organization of the Coroner, its’ mission and responsibilities. The remaining slides depict anti-drinking and driving messages interspersed with several different alcohol or drug related incidents.

2. The participants then take a brief tour of the security floor of the Department. The participants are required to wear the minimum required OSHA protective apparel and then escorted through the areas where decedents are processed in and out of the facility, undergo examinations or autopsies, then placed into a crypt pending release. Particular attention is paid to traffic-related fatalities and other cases where drugs or alcohol abuse figure prominently (i.e., suicide or overdoses).

NOTE: At no time does a participant view an autopsy in close proximity. However, participants are able to view autopsies and other forensic procedures in progress from a short distance away. Participants remain behind closed doors, but are able to view what is happening through windows in the doors.

3. The participants are then taken back to the classroom for the next segment. At this time, speakers from M.A.D.D. are introduced and a victim's impact presentation is made. In the absence of a speaker, a video will be shown. The videos we are currently using are entitled: "Sentenced For Life,""Learning The Hard Way," and "Cruel Spirits." These videos, while mildly graphic, are very powerful in communicating the message about not drinking and driving by focusing on the survivors, victims and in more than a few cases, the person responsible for the death of another.

4. The last activity is an opportunity for the participants to evaluate their experience and reflect on what happened or what is happening in their lives. The written evaluations almost universally commend the programs intentions and indicate that a definite impact has been made on the attendees.

All participants are given a certificate of attendance from the Department of Coroner, their court documents are authenticated by the presenter, and a receipt for any moneys paid is provided to them.