Schraa Proposes Inmate Alcohol Initiative

The chairman of the State Assembly’s Correction Committee would like to launch a pilot program to treat some of the estimated 2,000 people that will be going to prison for fourth offense or above drunken driving crimes. Michael Schraa says they will be going to prison for five years in a prison system that is already overcrowded. He proposes a pilot program in Winnebago County with those inmates being Huber eligible or able to continue working. He says they would be driven to work by Corrections workers and would be wearing ankle bracelets for monitoring. He says when they get back they take a sober link test to make sure they weren’t using. He says that evening they would get three or four hours of therapy. He says the catch is those inmates wouldn’t be going through the traditional 4 to 7 months of alcohol treatment therapy, but a more intense 12 to 18 months. He says the hope is that will get to the core issue of why they need alcohol in their life. He says they will stay busy and productive working with the check going back to the family instead of the family having to go on food stamps or BadgerCare. Schraa feels there is a real redemptive value to the program. It has a $5 million price tag to it.