Program to help drug users before they land in jail

The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded a grant from the state Department of Justice that will provide a major boost to its efforts to combat the effects of substance abuse and mental illness in the county.

The $217,935 grant will be used to implement a pre-arrest deflection program that would divert people with substance-use disorders from the court system to recovery services.

“When people are struggling they don’t usually have that support system of someone following them through the (judicial) process,” Sheriff Christy Knowles last month told members of the county Public Safety Committee, which voted unanimously to accept the grant.

The county will receive the same amount for a second year, ending in August 2027.

“There could be a third year, depending on how the program goes,” she said. “There’s going to be a learning curve.”

Knowles said it’s the first major grant her office has applied for and been awarded for this purpose and she said she plans on applying for more.

The program seeks to divert people with substance use disorders from incarceration to recovery services. The program includes screening, case management, evidence-based interventions and monitoring.

The Ozaukee program will be mentored by the  Door County Sheriff’s Office, which has used the program successfully, Knowles said.

“The goal is to reduce recidivism, promote rehabilitation and transform participants into productive community members while reducing pressure on the criminal justice system,” Knowles said.

The Sheriff’s Office will contract with Sirona Recovery Inc. to provide staffing for a program director and case manager, who will deliver all services to participants in the program.

Clients will meet with caseworkers at Sirona’s offices.

District Attorney Ben Lindsay said he welcomed that approach. Some counties locate their case workers under the program in the district attorney offices, “which creates a weird power dynamic,” he said.

Substance abuse and mental health calls have increased in recent years.

“The impact of substance use in Ozaukee County is significant and well-documented,” Knowles said.

Since 2020, the Sheriff’s Office has responded to 95 overdose-related calls, with 16 of these incidents being fatal.

In that time, the Sheriff’s Office has issued 1,907 citations for alcohol or drug-related operating while intoxicated offenses and made 917 drug-related arrests.

Those figures do not reflect activity by area police departments.

In recent years, the Sheriff’s Office, county Health and Human Services Department and other county agencies have taken steps toward combating the rise in those figures.

That includes the use of co-responder teams that combine a deputy and social worker to respond to crisis calls, and proposals to expand facilities and staff at the jail specifically to deal with the crisis.

The County Board unanimously approved accepting the grant at its meeting earlier this month.