Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill provides additional funding for and makes changes to the treatment alternatives and diversion (TAD) grant program administered by the Department of Justice.

Under current law, DOJ awards grants to counties that have established qualifying TAD programs for persons who are or may be charged with, or who are convicted of, offenses related to the person's use or abuse of alcohol or other drugs. Under current law, a TAD program is intended to offer alternatives to prosecution or incarceration for offenders with substance abuse problems in order to reduce recidivism, promote public safety, and reduce prison and jail populations.

Under current law, in order to qualify for a TAD grant, a county's program must meet certain criteria, including offering treatment alternatives for the offender's substance use, and coordinating with other specialists, including mental health treatment providers, social services providers, and case workers in order to provide intensive case management. Each qualifying program must be developed in collaboration with representatives from the judicial system, law enforcement and corrections, social and welfare service providers, and mental health and substance abuse treatment providers. Further, under current law, each county that receives a TAD grant creates an oversight committee with representatives from those agencies or services to administer and evaluate the program.

Under current law, a TAD program that receives a grant is subject to state audits and each county that receives a TAD grant must submit an annual report to DOJ and to the oversight committee that details its progress in promoting public safety, reducing recidivism and lowering costs, and meeting the treatment and other needs of program participants.

Current law allows counties to administer a TAD program jointly and requires any county that receives a grant to provide matching funds that are equal to 25 percent of the amount of the grant. Eligible programs must require participants to pay a reasonable amount for their treatment within the program.

This bill makes several changes to the TAD grant program. Under the bill, a program funded by a TAD grant need not focus solely on alcohol and other drug treatment, but must employ evidence-based practices and must be designed to promote effective criminal justice policies to reduce prosecution and incarceration costs, reduce recidivism, and enhance justice and public safety.

The bill requires each program to be designed to integrate and coordinate services from several providers, including a participant's behavioral health treatment providers, case managers, and compliance monitors. The bill requires each program to use eligibility criteria based on risk, need, and responsivity assessments and to tailor its services to the needs of each participant or target population.

The bill allows, but does not require, an eligible program to require participants to pay an amount towards their treatment. The bill eliminates the 25 percent matching funds requirement.

Under the bill, DOJ must consult with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to establish eligibility criteria and to determine which county or tribe programs meet the eligibility requirements. The bill requires each county or tribe to establish a criminal justice oversight committee to develop and implement the program design and advise the county or tribe in administering and evaluating its program.

Under the bill, a program must specify whether or not certain violent offenders will be allowed to participate. If so, there must be a victim advocate on the program's oversight committee, if such an advocate exists in the program's county. If the program includes domestic abuse offenders, the oversight committee must consult with a batterers' treatment provider.

This bill provides $10,000,000 in funding to support TAD grants and administration.

Finally, under the bill, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council is required to study and report on all of the following:

1. The case load and distribution of criminal cases across the state and the distribution of assistant district attorneys, public defenders, and circuit court judges.

2. The impact of treatment courts, deferrals, and diversions on attorney time spent on a case and the length of time that a case stays open.

3. The recidivism rates of participants in a TAD program compared to the recidivism rates of similarly situated individuals who do not participate in a TAD program.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB1006,1 Section 1. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated: - See PDF for table

AB1006,2 Section 2. 20.455 (2) (ej) of the statutes is created to read:

AB1006,3,7 20.455 (2) (ej) Alternatives to prosecution and incarceration; administration. The amounts in the schedule to administer the grant program under s. 165.95, including to perform quality assurance, data collection, reporting, and technical assistance.

AB1006,3 Section 3 . 20.455 (2) (em) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB1006,4,2 20.455 (2) (em) (title) Alternatives Grants for alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for persons who use alcohol or other drugs; presentencing assessments.

AB1006,4 Section 4 . 20.455 (2) (kn) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB1006,4,5 20.455 (2) (kn) (title) Alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for persons who use alcohol or other drugs; justice information fee.

AB1006,5 Section 5 . 20.455 (2) (kv) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB1006,4,8 20.455 (2) (kv) (title) Grants for substance abuse treatment programs for criminal offenders alternatives to prosecution and incarceration programs.