Soberlink Device
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports a staggering 15.1 million Americans ages 18 and older suffer from alcohol use disorder (AUD), or the uncontrollable, preoccupied use of alcohol. A party’s alcohol use can pose issues of safety for the children of separating or divorced parents. I have seen the Courts and addiction specialists in New York and New Jersey recommend, and the parties use, the Soberlink monitoring system.
Soberlink is a portable, real-time, and wireless breathalyzer monitoring device that measures the parent’s blood alcohol concentration, or “BAC,” and enables the parties to receive the information via text and/or e-mail in real-time. The device is discrete, reliable, and uses advanced facial recognition technology to avoid tampering or manipulation.
The Courts may order or the parties may agree to Soberlink testing to ensure that a parent is sober before, during, or after parenting time. The monitoring parent can receive a Soberlink testing result before a parenting time session is initiated and the children picked up or dropped off. Typically, there will be consequences or a protocol for positive BAC levels, allowing, in real-time, for compliant retesting, or for visits to be rescheduled, cancelled, or terminated. In the face of compliant testing and regular and long-term monitoring, parents may then feel they can expand parenting time and can safely move to overnights or travel. The Soberlink device can allow a monitoring parent to feel secure about leaving the children with the other parent and reduce worry and stress.
As it is based on real-time objective and reliable evidence of alcohol use and BACs, the parties can avoid “he said, she said” disputes. Soberlink records are easy for the parents, lawyers and Courts to interpret and access. Soberlink may allow a monitored parent structured accountability to demonstrate sobriety and a long-term commitment to recovery. Soberlink allows for adjustments to parenting time arrangements based on the best interests in the children.
Soberlink can provide automated reminders for the monitored parent via text messages and automated overview reports for both parties or the Courts.
Soberlink can be agreed to in mediated and collaborative cases. The parties can tailor a schedule for testing given their needs and concerns. Both parties may voluntarily enter into a contract and decide on the monitoring and alert terms, and a protocol for use of the device. Soberlink can rebuild trust.
If alcohol use may be an issue in your case, speak to your attorney about the option of utilizing Soberlink monitoring. Questions about the device and Soberlink’s systems are addressed here. Soberlink’s best practices and options on how to use this monitoring system are set forth here.