Winnebago County board hears plea to fund Solutions Recovery peer response team as STAR jail program reports lower recidivism

Winnebago County Board members heard a daylong presentation and multiple public comments urging the county to close a $322,000 funding gap for Solutions Recovery’s peer response team, a 24/7 community follow‑up program that supports people after release from the Winnebago County Jail and runs a 24/7 hotline and other services.

The request came as Solutions Recovery executive director Megan Edwards updated the board on the STAR jail-based program and related community services. Edwards said STAR — the jail-based program — is fully funded for 2026, but that community-based peer follow‑up is at risk after a federal CO‑SUB grant ended and a follow‑on grant became unavailable for application. “People are gonna die,” Edwards told the board, saying the first two weeks after release carry high overdose risk.

The peer response team was created from recommendations of the Winnebago County Overdose Fatality Review Team and has operated alongside the STAR pod in the county jail. Edwards and speakers described the two programs as complementary: STAR provides structured, in‑custody groups and release planning, while the peer response team does rapid post‑release outreach, transportation, housing help, crisis de‑escalation and a round‑the‑clock hotline.

Edwards told the board that STAR program enrollments total 1,742 episodes over nearly three years (about 1,200 unique individuals), and that the organization recorded 3,811 community follow‑up interactions and nearly 5,000 in‑person meetings between recovery coaches and people inside the jail. Using a 30‑day sobriety metric for STAR participants who stayed 30 days or more, she reported a 28% sobriety rate at that interval. Edwards also summarized a recidivism analysis done with University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh criminologist Matt Ritchie showing STAR participants had about a 28% recidivism rate in the study sample, compared with roughly 50% for the general jail population; she said STAR participants who reoffended returned later than the general population, creating measurable county savings.

Public comment and program participants emphasized personal recovery stories. Jordan Kabicki, who identified himself as an Oshkosh resident and said he works with criminal justice populations, told the board: “They have answered the call for help every single time.” Multiple former participants described transport from jail to sober living, assistance with appointments and employment help.

County district attorney Eric Spahr said Solutions Recovery and its peer response team are a unique local resource and urged the board to consider funding: “This is not something that exists everywhere,” Spahr said, noting the peer model fills gaps other communities may not have.

Edwards said the specific shortfall for community services is about $322,000 for 2026. She described funding history: a short initial grant in 2022, a CO‑SUB federal grant that funded the work through September 2025, and a subsequent federal posting that was withdrawn from application after a change in administration. Public Health had applied for a state grant with $200,000 earmarked for the peer response team but was denied, she said. The organization had secured other local grants but said those dollars are insufficient to cover the entire deficit.

Supervisors asked for data detail. Supervisor Kate Hancock Cook pressed for confidence intervals and clearer chart axes for the recidivism figures and said percentages should be presented with numerators and denominators. Edwards responded that she can provide additional breakdowns and the program is working to standardize metrics.

Board members and supervisors discussed possible funding sources. Several urged department heads including the sheriff and human services to review budgets for potential reductions. Multiple supervisors and the district attorney emphasized the programs’ public‑safety and fiscal arguments — reduced emergency calls, fewer hospitalizations and lower incarceration costs when people receive timely post‑release support.

Edwards asked the board to consider gap funding for 2026 while Solutions Recovery pursues longer‑term funding, including reapplication to federal programs, local grants and a pending application to the Basic Needs Giving Partnership. She also said the nonprofit plans community fundraising and other revenue diversification to avoid returning to the board for recurring support.

Edwards and several public commenters also cited a countywide decline in fatal overdoses from 2023 to 2024; Edwards said Winnebago County recorded a 49% decrease (compared with a 29% national decrease) in that period and attributed part of the trend to the combined jail and peer response work.

What happens next: the board’s informal budget process and upcoming committee budget reviews were discussed later in the meeting; supervisors suggested working with the sheriff and department heads to identify possible savings to cover shortfalls while longer‑term options are explored.

Edwards and multiple residents urged the board to weigh the human and fiscal impacts of allowing the peer response team to end and to consider interim funding to maintain services in 2026.