An Act to create 301.096 of the statutes; Relating to: performance grants based on improving employment rates for individuals on probation, parole, or extended supervision. (FE)
Summary
SB302 would create a new performance-grant program within the Department of Corrections for adult probation and parole regional offices. The grants would be tied to improvements in employment outcomes for people on probation, parole, or extended supervision in each region. DOC would calculate a baseline employment rate using fiscal years 2021-22 through 2023-24, then compare that baseline to each region’s most recent annual employment rate. If a region improves, the office becomes eligible for a grant; if employment declines, the office receives no grant for that year.
The bill also requires regional offices that receive grants to use the money for employee bonuses. In addition, DOC must develop and publish outcome measures for each region and statewide, including employment rates, average length of employment, new-crime conviction rates while under supervision, completion rates for supervision terms, program changes, and estimated state savings from reduced correctional costs. DOC must work with the offices to produce annual public reports for the Legislature and the Joint Committee on Finance describing the program’s effectiveness and recommending resource or collaboration changes.
Impact
The bill would create s. 301.096 of the Wisconsin statutes and establish a new DOC-administered incentive-grant framework for adult probation and parole offices. It would require DOC to collect and publish employment and recidivism-related data, calculate baseline and annual employment rates, determine grant eligibility and amounts, oversee use of grant funds, and report annually to the Legislature. The program would affect regional probation and parole offices and their employees, since grant money must be used for staff bonuses, and it would indirectly affect individuals under community supervision through the emphasis on employment and supervision outcomes.
Sentiment
The available context shows no recorded committee transcript or vote breakdown, so there is no detailed public debate to summarize. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be framed as a performance-based, evidence-oriented criminal justice reform aimed at improving employment and reducing recidivism among supervised individuals. The bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, indicating it did not advance to enactment despite being introduced with bipartisan-style cosponsorship.
Contention
The main policy tension in the bill is its use of employment outcomes as the trigger for funding and its exclusion of regions that experience increased revocations for new crimes in the prior fiscal year. Supporters would likely view the proposal as encouraging evidence-based supervision practices, better reentry support, and measurable accountability. Potential critics could question whether the formula fairly accounts for regional differences, data quality, labor-market conditions, or factors outside a regional office’s control, and whether tying grants to bonuses is the best use of public funds. The bill also leaves DOC discretion to use best available data if official data are insufficient, which could be another point of concern for transparency and comparability.
Crossfiled
An Act to create 301.096 of the statutes; Relating to: performance grants based on improving employment rates for individuals on probation, parole, or extended supervision. (FE)
Revocation of probation, parole, or extended supervision and sanctions for violation of a condition or rule or probation, parole, or extended supervision. (FE)