Breaking the cycle

Getting sober is one requirement. Finding a place to live, keeping appointments and securing a job can be part of the work, too.

For people entering Monroe County's treatment courts, those challenges can come at once. The programs bring court officials, law enforcement and treatment providers to the same table, working to address the addiction behind repeated offenses while holding participants accountable.

The county operates separate OWI Treatment Court and Drug Court programs. Tara Nichols, Monroe County's justice programs manager, coordinates both. Captain Stan Hendrickson is on the OWI Treatment Court team, while Lt. Ryan Hallman serves on the Drug Court team; both represent the Monroe County Sheriff's Department.

Their shared goal is to help participants stop returning to the criminal justice system.

"That's why we're trying to break that exact thing, that circle, that cycle," Hallman said.

The work can begin with treatment. It may also begin with food, clothing, or a safe place to sleep. Nichols said many OWI Treatment Court participants already have jobs and housing when they enter. Drug Court participants often arrive in less stable circumstances, requiring staff to help them establish the basics before they can move forward.

All 26 Drug Court graduates were unemployed when they entered the program, she said. Eighteen had joined the workforce before graduation.

Fourteen entered homeless or in unstable living arrangements. Staff helped 15 graduates move into independent living, Nichols said, while others graduated living with family.

"We haven't had anybody who's graduated and been unhoused," she said.

Treatment with accountability

Monroe County's OWI Treatment Court and Drug Court combine addiction treatment with court supervision, testing, and accountability to help participants avoid further offenses. OWI Treatment Court serves qualifying repeat impaired-driving defendants, while Drug Court addresses criminal behavior linked to substance use.

Requirements include victim impact sessions, random drug testing, driver safety assessments, therapy, and, depending on the program, education classes. Together, these services provide different levels of intervention based on a person's offense and treatment needs.

Both courts use teams that include a judge, prosecution and defense representatives, probation, law enforcement and Justice Programs staff. They review participants' progress, identify concerns, and decide how to respond.

Hendrickson and Hallman said their role includes keeping public safety part of those discussions. Hallman also helps identify potential Drug Court referrals. The programs serve people assessed as having substantial treatment needs and a high risk of reoffending, Nichols said. OWI Treatment Court accepts qualifying defendants with fourth, fifth, or sixth-offense convictions.

Drug Court accepts a broader range of cases. Someone may enter with a drug possession charge, but another participant could have a burglary case in which substance use contributed to the offense. Certain violent convictions and drug-trafficking charges can prevent admission, Hallman said.

Nichols emphasized that treatment court differs from diversion. Monroe County's diversion program gives eligible defendants a chance to reduce or dismiss charges by completing requirements such as counseling, restitution, or community service.

OWI and Drug Court participants remain accountable for their offenses; they receive treatment and intensive supervision in the community rather than facing the incarceration that might otherwise follow.

Drug Court participants have already been sentenced and are on probation. Hendrickson said OWI Treatment Court participants generally begin before sentencing and later move onto probation.

Treatment requirements depend on the individual. Some need residential care. Others attend outpatient counseling. Nichols said mental health treatment is required when an assessment identifies that need.

Both courts also require Thinking for a Change, a course that helps participants examine thought patterns and practice different ways of making decisions.

Help ready upon release

Hallman said Drug Court has improved its service coordination since opening in 2020. Staff work to have treatment and other support arranged before participants leave jail.

"We're not releasing people to nothing," he said.

Drug Court has a contract with Family and Children's Center to provide treatment services, though participants can work with their own provider, Hallman said. Hendrickson said OWI Treatment Court likewise works to arrange counseling and intensive outpatient treatment promptly.

Nichols said grant funding has helped Drug Court connect participants with providers without relying on ordinary waiting lists. Finding residential treatment can still be difficult.

Delays matter. Someone ready to accept help may struggle to maintain that willingness through weeks of waiting, she said. Recovery itself can be uneven.

Nichols said some participants began using substances as children and have continued for decades. Expecting them to change immediately would overlook how long those behaviors have shaped their lives.

"You can't change a behavior in one day," she said. "You can't change a behavior in a weekend."

When someone relapses, the team examines what happened and whether treatment needs to change. More counseling may be necessary. A mental health concern or medication issue could also need attention.

Hallman said missed appointments or declining engagement can signal trouble before a relapse occurs.

"The ultimate goal is to get them back on track," he said.

That does not excuse new criminal activity or harm to another person. Nichols said those behaviors may result in jail or other sanctions. Hallman said probation authorities can also use holds or warrants when Drug Court participants disengage.

"They need our kindness and compassion coupled with strict accountability and supervision," Nichols said.

Measuring progress

OWI Treatment Court began in 2012. At the time of the interview, Nichols reported 80 successful graduations and 16 unsuccessful completions. Since its 2020 start, Drug Court has recorded 26 graduates and 22 terminations.

Nichols said COVID-19 disrupted Drug Court shortly after it opened, limiting in-person contact and treatment while staff was still establishing the program.

Those completion figures do not show how many graduates have maintained long-term recovery. Nichols said staff do not stay in contact with everyone, although some regularly send updates.

One former OWI participant sends her messages marking his continued sobriety more than a decade later.

Hallman described a Drug Court participant who worked part time at Rolling Hills during the program, graduated, and secured a full-time job there. Another graduate became active in the local recovery community.

Nichols said four Drug Court participants have become licensed peer support workers.

Staff assess progress by employment, housing, and education, she said, along with sobriety and new offenses.

Hendrickson said OWI graduates return to provide updates in the months after completion. Former participants are also invited to community service projects and sometimes return to speak with those still working through treatment court.

The hope is that participants leave with a support network they can continue to rely on.

Housing and transportation

Nichols identified housing as the biggest barrier participants face.

Finding a rental can be difficult even without a criminal record, eviction history, or unemployment. Those circumstances make it harder, she said, and rental assistance has become less available.

Hallman said participants may need to distance themselves from friends or relatives who use drugs. That can leave them with fewer places to stay just when they need a sober environment.

Transportation presents another challenge, particularly for OWI participants who cannot legally drive.

Hendrickson said staff help participants develop lists of people willing to provide rides. Those living in Tomah or rural areas may struggle to reach appointments in Sparta.

Hendrickson, Nichols, and Hallman expressed concern about losing the SMRT Bus. They said the service helped people reach treatment court, medical appointments, and other services. Nichols described a treatment court participant in La Crosse who attended college and depended on it to get to class.

"I don't know what he's going to do. He doesn't know what he's going to do. You know, it's a big ask to have somebody drive you from Tomah to La Crosse every day so that you can better your life," she continued.

Different funding sources

Nichols said OWI Treatment Court is primarily funded through the county tax levy. Participants pay monthly program fees and electronic monitoring fees, with opportunities to work off some charges through community service at nonprofit organizations.

Drug Court relies primarily on grants and funding from opioid settlements. A small county contribution covers expenses the grants do not, and participants are not charged Drug Court program fees, she said.

Fines, court costs and restitution remain separate obligations.

Nichols said Justice Programs continue seeking outside funding. She also sees the investment as a way to help residents return to work, support their families and reduce repeated involvement in the justice system.

Hallman said law enforcement officers often remember the people they encounter repeatedly. People who recover may quietly fall out of view as they find jobs, move, or build more stable lives. Their absence can be easy to overlook.

Nichols sees another side of that progress in graduates who return to help others. Some become peer support workers. Others share what they learned with people still struggling.

For Hallman, the work also depends on something the team cannot provide.

"They need to want to change," he said.

Nichols said, "When a child is asked to write about what they see for their future, nobody is writing, 'I want to be a drug addict who goes to jail'." She continues, "Everybody has hopes and dreams higher than that, and life happens, and a lot of people have circumstances out of their control that have happened to them, and drugs or alcohol is how they've coped with that."

Nichols believes the benefits can reach beyond the person in treatment. She has seen participants become parents, raising children in homes changed by their recovery.

"These babies … have parents who are healthy, happy, involved in their life, not using substances," Nichols said. "And what a future they have."

More information can be found at https://www.co.monroe.wi.us/departments/justice-programs