County Executive Falk and Sheriff Hamblin to Lead Visit to Milwaukee and Racine Secured AODA Treatment Facilities

January 18, 2002
Billy Feitlinger, 608/266-3197

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Sheriff Gary Hamblin will lead a delegation of county officials to visit two secure Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) Treatment Facilities in Milwaukee and Racine this Wednesday, January 23, 2002. The group will tour the 210-AODA treatment beds of the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility, a Wisconsin Department of Corrections facility, at 1015 North 10th Street, at 10 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., they will tour the 20-bed Racine County Jail AODA facility, at 717 Wisconsin Avenue. The purpose of the site visit is to give a first-hand look at jail alternative facilities for handling people with drug and alcohol addictions or problems. According to county data, since l998, there has been a 67% increase in repeat OWI offenders. In 2001, a one-day snapshot of the jail population found that 17% had operating while intoxicated or other drug arrests. The county this year is developing options and recommendations for a combination of programs and facilities to treat offenders with AODA problems. “The goal is to improve public safety, reduce recidivism, and improve or correct the drug and alcohol abuse problem so that people can turn their lives around and not re-offend,” said Falk. A number of Dane County Board of Supervisors will join County Executive Kathleen Falk and Sheriff Gary Hamblin on these tours of AODA facilities in Milwaukee and Racine County. # # #