301.068 Community services to reduce recidivism.

(1) The department shall establish community services that have the goals of increasing public safety, reducing the risk that offenders on community supervision will reoffend, and reducing by 2010-11 the recidivism rate of persons who are on probation, parole, or extended supervision following a felony conviction. In establishing community services under this section, the department shall consider the capacity of existing services and any needs that are not met by existing services.

(2) The community services to reduce recidivism under sub. (1) shall include all of the following:

(a) Alcohol and other drug treatment, including residential treatment, outpatient treatment, and aftercare.

(b) Cognitive group intervention.

(c) Day reporting centers.

(d) Treatment and services that evidence has shown to be successful and to reduce recidivism.

(3) The department shall ensure that community services established under sub. (1) meet all of the following conditions:

(a) The community services target offenders at a medium or high risk for revocation or recidivism as determined by valid, reliable, and objective risk assessment instruments that the department has approved.

(b) The community services provide offenders with necessary supervision and services that improve their opportunity to complete their terms of probation, parole, or extended supervision. The community services may include employment training and placement, educational assistance, transportation, and housing. The community services shall focus on mitigating offender attributes and factors that are likely to lead to criminal behavior.

(c) The community services use a system of intermediate sanctions on offenders for violations.

(d) The community services are based upon assessments of offenders using valid, reliable, and objective instruments that the department has approved.

(4) The department shall develop a system for monitoring offenders receiving community services under this section that evaluates how effective the services are in decreasing the rates of arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of the offenders receiving the services.

(5) The department shall provide to probation, extended supervision, and parole agents training and skill development in reducing offenders' risk of reoffending and intervention techniques and shall by rule set forth requirements for the training and skill development. The department shall develop policies to guide probation, extended supervision, and parole agents in the supervision and revocation of offenders on probation, extended supervision, and parole and develop practices regarding alternatives to revocation of probation, extended supervision, or parole. To the extent practicable, the department shall incorporate the practices into the system developed under s. 301.03 (3) (a).

(6) The department shall annually submit a report to the governor, the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the appropriate standing committees under s. 13.172 (3), and the director of state courts. The report shall set forth the scope of the community services established under sub. (1); the number of arrests of, convictions of, and prison sentences imposed on offenders receiving the community services under this section; and the progress toward recidivism reduction.

History: 2009 a. 28; 2013 a. 196.