COUNTY BOARD FAILS TO BACK REHAB PLAN

Falk Wants Pilot Program First

A Dane County Board committee isn't convinced spending $1 million on new
alcohol and drug abuse programs for inmates is appropriate without more
study of the current programs.

The board's Public Protection and Judiciary Committee Tuesday didn't
endorse the AODA Program and Facility Study made by Dr. Cheryl Zimmerman of
Racine-based Zimmerman Consulting, which calls for spending more than $1
million on programs, including $600,000 on a new intensive AODA (alcohol
and other drug abuse) treatment program for jail inmates with after-care
included, to reduce the chances of offenders going back to jail.

County Executive Kathleen Falk earmarked $1 million in the 2002 county
budget for jail alternatives for AODA offenders, with one option being a
new 100-bed treatment facility independent of the jail. The County Board
OK'd spending $24,800 on the Zimmerman study.

The study, released Aug. 9, makes no mention of a new facility. Instead, it
centers on in-jail treatment options, including expanding existing programs
such as the treatment alternative program, drug court and two home
detention programs.

The study also recommends starting demonstration projects for women and
minorities and an intensive supervision program, all methods Zimmerman
feels will help keep alcohol and drug abusers out of the county jail's
three facilities.

Falk assistant Billy Feitlinger told the committee Falk is not committing
$1 million to improving AODA programs, but would rather see a pilot program
set up first to see what options work best.

"We still have legitimate questions, and there are no easy answers,"
Feitlinger said.

Sun Prairie Supervisor Dave Hannemann said he wants to see a separate AODA
facility built to relieve the jail of overcrowding by AODA offenders, but
also said data shown to date do not give the answers looked for by the
county or by Falk.

"We need a lot more hard facts," Hanneman said. "I don't want to keep
piling out money for pilot programs."

Zimmerman told the committee existing facilities could be utilized for the
AODA treatment programs already in place, either inside the jail or in a
Huber law facility that could be either locked or unlocked.

What about a stand-alone AODA treatment facility for the county?

"No county in Wisconsin has a rehab facility," Zimmerman said. "But if a
county is willing to do it, the state would work with the county to help do
it."

Madison Supervisor Mike Hanson said Zimmerman presented "an excellent
report," and the county would be moving in the right direction by
implementing the suggestions.

"In Madison alone, there are 40 to 60 chronic AODA abusers," Hanson said.
"The law enforcement community knows them by name. There is an expense each
time they choose to use. But what happens now after they get out of
treatment? If they've been users most of their life, they come right back."

Madison Supervisor Richard Brown also wants to see more emphasis on AODA
programs for African-Americans in jail. Brown, who is African-American,
said the study shows little support for blacks.

"Blacks feel threatened or uncomfortable in the programs," Brown said.
"They feel they are getting a bad chance, so why go through the programs?"

DeForest Supervisor Dennis O'Loughlin, chair of the committee, echoed
Brown's sentiments.

"Supervisor Brown made a point that floored me," O'Loughlin said. "We don't
have a reflection of a diversity of (jail) staff to the inmates."

The study said that while 4.7 percent of Dane County residents are
African-American, 34 percent of the 17,000 bookings into the Dane County
jail in 2001 were listed as African-American.

While the committee didn't endorse the study, Feitlinger said Falk will
continue meeting with the "stakeholders" in the jail/AODA program,
including circuit judges, the district attorney and county board
supervisors, to come up with a plan for the 2003 county budget.