JOINT COMMITTEE HEARING ON INTERSECTION OF HUMAN SERVICES AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

July 27, 2022
Supervisor Richelle Andrae: (414) 469-6664 and Supervisor Wegleitner: (608) 333-3676
County Board

A joint meeting of the Health and Human Needs Committee and Public Protection and Judiciary Committee will be held virtually at 5:30PM on Thursday, July 28. Members of the public may join the meeting online or via phone, by registering with the link available at https://dane.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=988405&GUID=DA14ED69-F07B-4D75-B086-1E4FAFF20286. 

Registrations must be received at least 30 minutes prior to the meeting.

At the meeting, the Committees will be joined by staff from the Department of Human Services and Sheriff’s Office to learn more about programming and initiatives at the intersection of human services and criminal justice. Discussion items will include health services provided for residents of the Dane County jail, treatment and diversion programs, and transitions to community. 

“Too many people are in the Dane County jail because we are not providing for their basic human needs - like on-demand access to treatment programs and supportive housing,” said Heidi Wegleitner, Chair of the Health and Human Needs Committee.

“We must continue to advance public health and human services-based approaches to reducing incarceration and transitioning from punishment to rehabilitation and recovery. This annual meeting gives our Committees an opportunity to move upstream in addressing the core needs of Dane County residents involved in the justice system, and ideally, to divert individuals from the system in the first place,” said Richelle Andrae, Chair of the Public Protection and Judiciary Committee

The Committees look forward to hearing from County staff and encourage service providers, people with lived experience, and other community members to offer public comment and contact the Board with their feedback.  The County Board can be emailed at county_board_recipients@countyofdane.com.