Wisconsin Watch Media Partners Center (https://partners.wisconsinwatch.org/tag/treatment/)
Ballast rules for ocean-going vessels to limit invasive species work; adding rules for local freighters would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, the industry says.
In the past several years, a handful of Wisconsin counties became the first nationwide to test repeat drunken drivers for molecular evidence of heavy drinking in nail or blood samples. Researchers say their initial data show that biomarker testing during treatment may help these offenders stay sober longer, keep them from getting rearrested, save counties money — and make roads safer.
Some drunken drivers are required to attend panels where they hear from victims of drunken driving and their families. But the panels often fail to keep offenders from driving drunk again, and may even increase the chances they will.
“This time, I’m confident, I’m willing, I’m able and I want the sobriety,” says Andrew MacGillis, currently in Fox Lake Correctional Institution on his seventh drunken driving offense. But treatment may prove elusive for MacGillis, who says he has not been offered rehabilitation programs at Fox Lake. Others face a delay or are found noncompliant with court-ordered interviews that qualify them for treatment.
The state Department of Corrections hopes the federal Affordable Care Act will help released offenders get Medicaid. Starting next year, all Wisconsin residents below the poverty line will be eligible for BadgerCare Plus.