The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) was contracted by Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. to develop a set of guides for courts and probation agencies addressing the science behind transdermal alcohol testing, and guidelines for the effective and efficient implementation and administration of continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring. The goals of this work were to minimize loopholes in the supervision of offenders, and support the exchange of information among agencies.

Continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring is a technique used to collect and test an individual’s perspiration for alcohol consumption, at regular intervals over a specified period of time. It relies on the correlation that exists between the concentration of alcohol in blood and in sweat. Continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring is currently being used by courts and probation agencies in 35 states. At this time and several products are available.

TIRF prepared an educational primer that summarizes the research related to transdermal alcohol testing and the validity and reliability of this method. In addition, two guides were developed by TIRF with input from experienced criminal justice professionals familiar with continuous alcohol monitoring devices. These guides, tailored towards agency administrators and frontline practitioners, described how continuous alcohol monitoring in general can be effectively implemented to complement the supervision of alcohol abusing offenders. Guidelines were also developed to assist agency administrators and front-line professionals with incorporating continuous alcohol monitoring into existing organizational practices.