Wichita expands restoration program so residents can more quickly reinstate suspended driver’s licenses

The Wichita City Council heard a staff presentation on the Wichita Area Restoration Program — known as WARP 2.0 — that provides quick, clerical help to residents trying to remove driver’s license suspensions and regain legal driving privileges.

WARP program lead Dr. Nathan Emery told the council the city designed the program after reviewing local court data and models from Durham, North Carolina, and shifted the service away from a contract legal model to an on-site clerical model to provide same-day assistance. “We iterated. We created what we kinda call WARP 2.0,” Emery said, describing a city-run office on the third floor of City Hall staffed by a customer-service clerk who helps residents pull driving records, identify what is holding a license and complete motions or restricted-license applications.

The program’s goal, Emery told the council, is to reduce barriers and speed use of statutory tools enacted in recent years to forgive fines, fees and costs. “The assistance needed to be accessible when sought,” he said, adding that many people do not require full legal representation but do need help interpreting Driver Solutions records and completing…