Increase WI Budget Funding for Alternatives to Incarceration

As a member of JONAH, an affiliate of the state-wide social justice organization WISDOM, we need to invest $75M in our 2013-2015 state budget for Treatment Alternatives and other Diversions (TAD). Starting with non-serious offenders, we need to promote drug treatment, mental health care, and other corrective services to make our communities safer and much more just, all while saving $2 for every $1 spent. I have benefited from years of mental health services. Therefore, I believe all have the right for a 2nd chance, a 3rd chance, through corrective services. Under these Alternatives, non-violent offenders stay in their community for true rehabilitation, rather than being warehoused in jails and prisons. They are intensely supervised by a judge, human service professionals and rehabilitation providers. For evidence-based studies that show the success of such alternatives, go to www.prayforjusticeinwi.org.