EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office has received $338,000 in traffic safety funding to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving cases, continuing a county program designed to hold DUI offenders accountable.
The California Office of Traffic Safety awarded the grant for the Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driver Vertical Prosecution Program. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors approved the grant agreement Sept. 22, authorizing funding for the 12-month period from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027.
“Impaired driving is a growing problem, particularly with drivers suspected of operating a vehicle under the influence of both alcohol and drugs,” Chief Assistant District Attorney James Clinchard said in the District Attorney’s Office announcement.
“This program allows us to focus specifically on holding those who decide to drive impaired accountable for their dangerous actions,” Clinchard said.
Grant funds prosecutors, investigations and training
The $338,000 award will fund one limited-term deputy district attorney position, a half-time district attorney investigator and program-related operating expenses, including travel and training.
According to the county’s official agenda documents, the grant carries no local cash-match requirement, meaning the county is not required to contribute matching funds to qualify for the award. The county also reported no resulting increase in net county costs.
The specialized team will handle DUI cases throughout the criminal process, rather than limiting its involvement to a single stage of prosecution. The program focuses on investigating and prosecuting impaired-driving offenses, including felony DUI cases, while helping strengthen the handling of misdemeanor cases.
The county’s grant proposal identifies the combined use of alcohol and other impairing substances as a particular concern among younger drivers in El Dorado County. Prosecutors and investigators must evaluate evidence, coordinate with law enforcement and prepare cases for court, making specialized experience important to successful case preparation.
Statewide training partnership expands local expertise
The program also calls for collaboration with California’s Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Training Program, which provides specialized resources and training to prosecutors, law enforcement personnel and toxicologists handling DUI cases, particularly drug-impaired driving investigations.
The partnership is intended to strengthen investigative practices, improve coordination between prosecutors and law enforcement, and help legal professionals identify and address weaknesses in DUI cases.
California Office of Traffic Safety Director Stephanie Dougherty emphasized the importance of a coordinated approach.
“Strengthening impaired driving prosecution is a vital part of holding impaired drivers accountable for their dangerous actions that puts everyone on the road at risk,” Dougherty said.
She added that investing in dedicated teams and shared expertise improves how DUI cases are handled from beginning to end and reinforces that impaired driving carries consequences.
For El Dorado County, the training component can also benefit investigators and prosecutors beyond the grant-funded team by sharing specialized knowledge with local agencies and attorneys assigned to DUI cases.
A continuing program, with a smaller award than last year
The latest award continues a program the county has operated through successive grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
For the previous grant year, covering Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, the county received $392,100 for the same general program. The new award is $54,100 lower, a decrease of approximately 13.8%.
The reduction does not, by itself, establish that the program’s workload or effectiveness has changed. The available grant documents establish the new award amount and authorized staffing, but do not provide a comparative accounting of DUI caseloads, convictions or program outcomes.
The Board of Supervisors’ approval allows the District Attorney’s Office to accept the award and execute related grant documents, including amendments or extensions that do not increase net county costs, subject to County Counsel review.
For residents traveling on county roads and highways, the program represents a continued investment in the criminal justice response to impaired driving. Its purpose is to improve the investigation and prosecution of cases involving drivers suspected of operating vehicles while impaired by alcohol, drugs or both.
The grant is not a general traffic enforcement allocation. It supports the prosecution and investigation side of traffic safety, complementing the work of law enforcement officers who investigate suspected DUI offenses.
The funding comes through the California Office of Traffic Safety, using federal funds provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The grant period runs through Sept. 30, 2027. The county’s published approval documents do not quantify how many additional cases the funding is expected to resolve or specify measurable targets for convictions, repeat-offender reduction or traffic fatalities.
Those figures would help residents assess the program’s results when future performance and grant reports become available.
Official records: Read the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors’ Sept. 22, 2026, grant approval and supporting information for the award amount, staffing, funding conditions and program details.
