Dane County’s Board of Supervisors will accept a $20,000 grant for criminal justice reform from the MacArthur Foundation.
In a statement Thursday, the county said the funds would be used to create a data system for tracking race, gender, age and reason for arrest of those on trial. The statement said this would be used to better identify communities more in need of assistance and then share that information to better the services provided.
“This grant endorses the investment the County Board has made integrating data into decision making,” County Supervisor Sharon Corrigan, District 26, said. “It is critical for Dane County not only to reduce our jail population, but also to address the ongoing racial disparity of those in the criminal justice system.”
The grant is part of a $100 million campaign by the MacArthur Foundation to decrease the use of jails across the country and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
This is not the first time the county has received funds for justice reform from the foundation — the Dane County Community Restorative Justice Court received $50,000 from the MacArthur Foundation in 2017.
The announcement came just two days after Madison Police Chief Mike Koval and Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne traded online jabs over the criminal justice system’s handling of juvenile offenders.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin responded to Koval and Ozanne by releasing a letter criticizing the inability of the justice system to rehabilitate offenders. When dealing with juvenile offenders, the city can either release them back into the community or send them to the Lincoln Hills juvenile detention facility.
Soglin called both of these “unacceptable,” citing recent allegations of abuse at Lincoln Hills. He urged city officials to help him implement social programs to increase employment opportunities and keep kids in school. Soglin lamented the inability of the city to put any of these programs in place as they do not have the legal ability to do so.
