Governor Jim Doyle today announced $616,500 for Treatment and Diversion
(TAD) grants to Dane, Rock, Wood, Washburn and Burnett counties to fund
drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment programming, saving the
counties an estimated $3.3 million in future jail housing costs.
“The grants I am announcing today will go a long way toward holding
offenders accountable while providing critical resources to help break the
recurring chain of addiction, crime, arrest and incarceration,” Governor
Doyle said. “When a nonviolent offender with an alcohol or drug addiction
decides to take responsibility for their actions and seeks to become a
productive, law-abiding citizen, we need to have the tools available to
help that offender succeed. It’s a wise use of tax dollars and a smart
investment in public safety.”
The TAD program is a new county alcohol and drug abuse alternative
program created in the 2005-07 state budget signed by Governor Doyle that
seeks to address the overwhelming need for substance abuse treatment in
communities and in the state prison system. The Office of Justice
Assistance (OJA) and the Departments of Corrections (DOC) and Health and
Family Services (DHFS) collaborate to administer the program.
“In the long run, by focusing on prevention and treatment in addition
to effective law enforcement, combined with increasing the options we have
available to hold offenders accountable, Wisconsin can enhance public
safety and reduce future costs for the criminal justice system,” DOC
Secretary Matt Frank said. “We must take a comprehensive approach that
brings together criminal justice, human services and community-based
partners to address this issue as one that deals with public safety as
well as public health.”
The following counties will receive TAD grants:
Dane County: The TAD program in Dane County is receiving $163,725
to expand and coordinate current Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA)
services in Dane County through the establishment of a Day Report and
Treatment (DART) program. Non-violent alcohol and drug abusers will be
entered into the DART program as part of a bail agreement, undergo a risk
and addiction assessment, and enter into four to six months of coordinated
treatment, counseling, and skill-building sessions. The TAD initiative
will also replace lost federal funding for the highly effective Drug Court
Treatment Program and, through the establishment of a DART program, expand
Dane County’s pre-trial diversion program, the Treatment Alternatives
Program.
It is estimated that there will be a 45% reduction in pre-trial jail
days served by DART participants, greatly reducing county jail costs and
improving public safety through more effective drug and alcohol treatment
plans.
Rock County: The County will receive $156,814 to establish a TAD
program based on the success of the Rock County Educational and Criminal
Addiction Program (RECAP), a treatment program for jail inmates operated
by the state Department of Corrections. Non-violent offenders will be
screened by TAD case managers and given alternative sentences including a
treatment curriculum of 12 week drug and alcohol abuse courses, group
treatment sessions, and anger management courses. Case managers will
conduct regular as well as random drug testing, conduct educational
services including literacy, computing, parenting, and employability
skills courses, and award incentives for successful completion of the
program.
By diverting drug and alcohol offenders from prison and jail to proven
and effective treatment programs, the TAD initiative will alleviate
current jail overcrowding and could save Rock County up to $1 million that
is currently budgeted to house jail inmates that cannot fit in the county
jail.
Wood County: The TAD grant of $147,025 will be used to expand the
current drug court pilot program established by the Wood County Criminal
Justice Task Force in October 2004 and offer greater access to the court
to the citizens most in need of alcohol and drug abuse treatment services.
Once an offender is identified for the court, drug court counselors, in
conjunction with the offender, will develop a treatment plan including
drug and alcohol treatment services, training in education, employability
and parenting skills, and emotional and mental health counseling.
Compliance with the treatment program will be assessed through random drug
testing occurring multiple times weekly. Regular and individualize
interaction occurs between the Circuit Court Judge, law enforcement, and
Drug Court counselors to gauge progress and tend to the changing needs of
the client.
Treatment and diversion programming established through the TAD
initiative will help alleviate spending on jail overcrowding. Wood County
has spent up to $1.5 million on jail overcrowding since 2004.
Washburn/Burnett Counties and the St. Croix Tribe: The new TAD
program will receive $148,936 to combine resources, concentrate efforts,
and offer comprehensive regional solutions to drug and alcohol problems
that each community has struggled to overcome. The TAD initiative will
create a new substance abuse court in Washburn County – similar to a court
opened in Burnett County in July 2006 – and utilize offender time spent in
jail to conduct drug abuse screening, needs assessments, and pre-treatment
services. An intensive 16 week AODA treatment plan, including outpatient
care, support groups, and relapse prevention, will be implemented to
provide long-term support for alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA)
offenders.
Approximately 60% of methamphetamine offenders relapse within six
months, and in Burnett and Washburn counties 30-40% of probation offenses
are related to methamphetamine use. By minimizing relapse and subsequent
imprisonment, and diverting AODA offenders away from imprisonment and to
effective treatment plans, Washburn and Burnett counties could save over
$800,000 that has been spent on jail overcrowding.
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