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Supervised Release Placements and Expenditures |
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Department of Health Services | |
August 2013 | |
Report Highlights | |
Statutes allow a circuit court to civilly commit a sexually violent individual to the custody of the Department of Health Services (DHS) until the court determines the individual is no longer sexually violent. Civil commitment is not a criminal punishment, but is intended to provide treatment and protect the public. An individual who has been civilly committed for at least 12 months may petition the circuit court to authorize supervised release, which allows the individual to be placed in the community under the custody and control of DHS. The circuit court may not authorize supervised release unless it determines that the individual has met five statutorily specified criteria, including that the individual has made significant progress in treatment and this progress can be sustained while on supervised release. On March 31, 2013, 33 individuals were on supervised release. Although statutes require DHS to make a reasonable attempt to notify the victim or the victim’s family about an intended placement on supervised release, concerns were raised after an individual authorized for supervised release was almost placed near the home of one of his victims. Concerns were also raised about the cost to house individuals on supervised release. Therefore, at the request of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, we:
Placements
From January 1995, when the first placement occurred, through March 2013, 96 individuals were placed into the community on supervised release. DHS indicated that it is challenging to identify a potential residence, in part because many landlords are unwilling to allow individuals on supervised release to live on their properties. Therefore, DHS may contact one of three firms it has identified to inquire whether the firm would be willing to attempt to identify a residence that the firm could purchase and then rent to DHS. Creating written policies for identifying potential residences would help to ensure that DHS uses a consistent and formal process and considers certain factors, including the cost to rent the residence. If a circuit court intends to place an individual on supervised release, or discharge an individual from civil commitment, statutes require DHS to make a reasonable attempt to notify the individual’s victim or the victim’s family. It does so with help from the Department of Corrections (DOC) and victim and witness coordinators working in district attorney offices. DOC operates an information technology (IT) system that records and tracks information about individuals convicted of crimes in Wisconsin. A victim or the victim’s family can register with the system, which allows them to be notified about changes in an individual’s status or location. This information is also available online. DHS, DOC, and victim and witness coordinators indicated that DOC’s IT system is the most effective way to provide information to victims or their families. Before an individual is placed on supervised release, DHS completes tasks on a written checklist, including determining if contact information for the victim or the victim’s family is in DOC’s IT system. Revising this checklist to include a contact with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Crime Victim Services or the relevant victim and witness coordinator would provide another means to obtain contact information for the victim or the victim’s family.
Expenditures
Supervised release expenditures
increased from
We reviewed 28 residential leases
that DHS had signed and were in
effect on
Within two years, DHS had paid
rental rates that may have allowed
firms to recoup their cost of
purchasing some residences. For
example, DHS paid
DHS contracts with a vendor to
provide monitoring and transportation
services for individuals
on supervised release. Monitoring
services include visits to residences
in order to determine whether
individuals are complying with
supervised release rules specified
by DHS. Transportation services
include taking individuals who
have been on supervised release
for more than one year to treatment
providers, places of employment,
and other DHS-approved locations.
In
DOC is statutorily responsible for
escorting individuals outside of
their residences during their first
year on supervised release, unless
it contracts for these services. In
Given that the same staff employed by the vendor provided similar services under both contracts, it is unclear why the hourly rates in the two contracts are so significantly different. To attempt to obtain a lower hourly rate, we recommend DHS begin the process of issuing a request for proposals for monitoring and transportation services.
Transportation for scheduled activities
increased from an average of
We reviewed the scheduled activities
for all 16 individuals for whom
transportation was provided in
Outcomes
Most individuals exit supervised
release one of two ways. First, a
circuit court can determine that an
individual is no longer sexually
violent and discharge the individual
from civil commitment. A total
of 34 of the 96 individuals placed
into the community on supervised
release from
Although statutes permit an individual
on supervised release to
petition for discharge from civil
commitment at any time, statutes
do not permit any other individual
or entity to file a discharge petition.
From
Recommendations
We include recommendations for DHS to:
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