PRISON COSTS LOCK UP STATE BUDGET DOLLARS

With prison spending gobbling up a growing slice of Wisconsin's budget, a
rising chorus of state and local leaders and reformers are pushing for
alternatives to prison sentences, such as drug courts that emphasize
treatment for nonviolent offenders.

Wisconsin's chronic budget problems have heightened scrutiny of the state's
explosive growth in the number of people behind bars and new prison
building that has sapped funds for K-12 education, the University of
Wisconsin System and other programs.

Although prison spending has leveled, it continues to account for roughly 7
percent of state general purpose revenue spending, behind only local school
aids, medical assistance, shared revenue to cities and counties and the UW
System.

And over the past 10 years, it has been the fastest growing of the five,
increasing 150 percent since 1995.

Reformers argue that putting a greater emphasis on treatment cuts the costs
of incarcerating inmates, reduces the risk of re-offending and helps put
offenders on the path to become responsible members of society.

Opponents attribute falling crime levels to "tough on crime" stances that
in recent years brought elimination of parole through truth in sentencing
and a "three strikes" law that opens the option of life imprisonment for
repeat felony offenders.

But those approaches come at a staggering cost that is most evident at
budget time.

While the UW System would receive a $9 million increase in funding in the
budget as approved by the Joint Finance Committee, it comes at a time where
the system faces a projected $81 million in increased costs. Aid to local
school districts has increased, but sits $392 million less than that
proposed in Gov. Jim Doyle's budget.

Richard Wells, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, said
recent budget shortfalls are having real consequences for students.

"Tuition is going up dramatically, but tuition doesn't offset the depths of
cuts," Wells said. "There are larger classes and it's harder to get
personalized services."

Meanwhile, the number of inmates in Wisconsin has tripled over the past 15
years, boosting corrections spending to $2.1 billion in the proposed
2005-07 state budget. And while the state's crime rate is on the decline,
neighboring Minnesota managed to spend about $362 million on state
corrections in 2005 - a little more than a third of the $1.03 billion
Wisconsin spent on corrections - while maintaining a comparable crime rate.

"I would have said 10 years ago that we had hit a breaking point," said
Daniel Nevers, a criminal justice lecturer at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, of corrections spending. "I'm not sure when we'll hit
the point where we decide we're no longer punishing criminals, but are
punishing ourselves."

Nevers, who spent 28 years as an agent and supervisor for probation and
parole, said Wisconsin's tough on crime stance has come at the expense of
options to jails and prisons that have shown to be a cheaper and more
effective in many substance abuse cases.

According to the latest statistics available, Wisconsin ranked last in the
nation in the number of drug courts with only three in 2003 in Dane, La
Crosse and Monroe counties. Eau Claire, Pierce and Wood counties have since
established pilot programs, and now Winnebago County is working to have its
own program in place by the first of the year. In addition, the Winnebago
County Jail is aiming to increase programming aimed at reforming offenders,
and hopes place more inmates onto bracelet monitoring in the community.

Reform advocates point to substance abuse as a major contributor to crime.

Survey results released in October by the federal Bureau of Justice
Statistics found that 40 percent of non-violent prison inmates in 15 states
at their time of discharge reported having been under the influence of
illegal drugs during the commission of their crime.

Incarceration comes with high costs. It costs about $18,000 to incarcerate
an inmate in Winnebago County jail for one year and $28,622 annually for an
inmate in the state correctional system.

The costs -both social and financial - led Republican Sen. Carol Roessler
of Oshkosh to look at starting treatment programs for non-violent
offenders. Roessler, whose district includes state corrections facilities
in Waupun, Taycheedah and Oshkosh, said the one of the biggest hurdles is
convincing lawmakers that treatment does not equate to coddling.

"Just think of the victims we could save and the costs that taxpayers must
bear that can be better invested," Roessler said. "What we're doing now is
clearly broken, and as a legislature, we have to take responsible and
resourceful approaches."

Her bill that would create a five-year pilot program and offer grants to
counties for development of treatment options for certain non-violent
offenders. The state's joint finance committee recently approved its
inclusion in the state budget.

Roessler introduced the bill during the last session and while it passed
the State Senate unanimously, Speaker John Gard failed to bring to bring
the bill to the Assembly for a vote.

Gard, R-Peshtigo, said he continues to have reservations with programs that
offer treatment in lieu of incarceration, because public safety is the
paramount goal of the criminal justice system. He said supporters of the
programs have their hearts in the right place, but he doubts they consider
community-based programs from the perspective that offenders could move
next door to them and their children.

Any such program would have to have a thorough screening process to
determine eligibility, and would have to move forward with extreme care, he
said.

"Treatment only works if someone wants to be treated," Gard said. "We need
to be careful. I don't want to look the other way and have criminals in our
communities because they promise to behave this time."

Supporters of treatment in lieu of prison acknowledge it doesn't work for
everyone.

But research has shown that those compelled to recover are often more
successful than who voluntarily submit to treatment, according to the
National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

A National Institute of Justice study found drug court graduates are less
likely to re-offend than those who don't go through the programs. The
likelihood that a drug court graduate would be arrested and charged for a
serious offense within a year of graduation was 16.4 percent. Those who
didn't graduate had a 43.5 percent recidivism rate, according to the study.

At two years, drug court recidivism grew to 27.5 percent, compared to 58.6
percent for those who didn't graduate from a program, the study reports.

Winnebago County Circuit Judge Scott Woldt, a leading propend of the
county's drug and alcohol court, said his interest in developing treatment
as an option derived from what he saw in defendants who enter his courtroom
everyday.

Many cases from thefts to battery and domestic abuse have drugs or alcohol
at the root. Even many civil, family and juvenile cases tie into substance
abuse issues.

"I was amazed to see just how prevalent drugs and alcohol are in our
society," Woldt said.

Statistics concur.

The federal Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program in 2003 found that
nearly 74 percent of arrestees at 39 sites nationwide tested positive for
either alcohol or illicit drugs.

That year, drunken driving and drug violations were the nation's two
highest arrest categories, accounting for more than 3 million of the 13.6
million total arrests made the United States, according to FBI Uniform
Crime Reports.

Drugs and alcohol have also had impacts in Oshkosh.

Combined arrests for drunken driving, drug offenses and liquor law
violations made up 25 percent of the total 5,578 arrests made by the
Oshkosh Police Department last year, the department's annual report shows.

David Knox is working through the Hennepin County, Minn. drug court in
attempt to get a first-time cocaine offense wiped from his record.
Separating himself from the scarlet letter of a drug conviction has been
big motivation to succeed, he said.

"It's a second chance," Knox said. "They're giving me a chance to clear my
name."

Costs versus benefits

Winnebago County in January is expected to become the seventh county with a
drug court program in Wisconsin.

Many other counties won't explore the program.

Walter Dickey, a former state corrections secretary and a law professor at
UW-Madison, said counties could have impact on Wisconsin's expanding prison
system by creating their own programs, but many don't have a reason to take
on the expense.

"Counties are strapped for cash and we haven't given them any incentive to
innovate," said Dickey, who served under Gov. Anthony Earl in the 1980s.
"There are limits to what you can do through property taxes."

The courts do carry some costs.

Winnebago County recently approved a $59,339 salary for its drug court
coordinator. The position is taking the place of a vacant human services
position. Training will require additional money. County officials are
hoping to offset costs through a federal grant that has sustained other
state programs.

La Crosse County Drug Court Judge John Perlich said critics have to look
beyond initial expenses. Drug courts are an investment and returns are
tremendous, although they're not always easy to track in a ledger book, he
said.

Dane County reports lesser jail expenses.

The county's 2005 State of the Judiciary Report estimated its drug court
costs at $17.78 per day, per defendant for 2003. If those defendants had
been jailed, costs would be significantly higher, according to the report.
The county's 2002 per day cost of housing a jail inmate was $60.41.

Perlich had one key example of how his drug court created some big savings
for taxpayers.

"We've had two children born drug free, and the savings to the community
with that alone is over a million bucks," Perlich said. "The medical costs
with crack babies are tremendous."

Advocates said the costs of treatment versus prison should also provide
impetus.

Consider two cases. Mark Stanich of Kenosha last year was sentenced to 18
months in prison for writing a fraudulent prescription. Susan Hill of La
Crosse in 2001 was charged a felony heroin offense. She participated in
drug court for two years, broke her addiction and had her case dismissed.

According to the Wisconsin Taxpayer Alliance, Wisconsin adult corrections
in 2001 cost $28,622 per inmate. At that rate, Wisconsin taxpayers will
have spent $42,933 for Stanich's incarceration by the time of his release.

While cost estimates by defendant were unavailable from La Crosse County's
program, national figures show taxpayers saved considerably by the court's
treatment of Hill. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals
estimates the cost of drug courts nationwide at $2,500 to $4,000 per
defendant, per year for a comprehensive program.

There's also the unpredictable future to consider, officials said. Many
drug court graduates don't re-offend, research shows.

James Barnes knows one fewer person is in a Minnesota prison, jail or
courtroom today as result of the Hennepin County drug court.

He graduated from the program seven years ago after a life of heroin, crack
and any other substance he could obtain. Last month, he sat in the
courtroom gallery in support of a current participant.

"It kept me out of jail," he said. "It also kept me clean and I haven't
been in any trouble since."