Treatment Alternatives Compared to Incarceration for Non-violent Offenders: A health impact assessment

Incarceration in Wisconsin has grown at an alarming rate. Most of those incarcerated are non-violent offenders suffering from substance abuse or mental health issues. In 2011, WISDOM, a statewide congregation-based community organizing project and member of the nationwide Gamaliel organization, secured funding to conduct a “Treatment Instead of Prisons health impact assessment” (HIA) to test the effectiveness of incarceration to address addiction and mental illness as compared with treatment alternatives. In 2006, Wisconsin established a $1.5 million/year fund for counties to provide treatment alternatives to prison. The HIA hypothesized that shifting funding from state prisons to treatment programs for many with substance abuse and mental health issues would result in safer, healthier, and more humane communities. The HIA assessed the impact of expanding funding to $75 million/year on recovery rates, recidivism, social capital, and other health outcomes. Preliminary results include: increased recovery rates, decreased recidivism, increased social capital and improved health outcomes for those diverted from incarceration to community-based treatment. The results are expected to have an influence in this decision and will inform future policy discussions. The HIA represents a key component of WISDOM's criminal justice organizing campaign. The presentation will discuss successes, challenges and lessons of the process of implementing an HIA on funding for alternatives to incarceration and the implications of its use in long-term advocacy strategies of community organizers. HIA can be an effective vehicle for framing public discussions on criminal justice policy and is a promising starting point for WISDOM's and Gamaliel's Healthy Heartland campaign.