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Marathon County treatment court shows small lead over state average in five‑year success rate
Summary
County justice staff presented an annual treatment-court data report showing 58 graduates since 2018, a five‑year success rate of about 58.8% compared with the state average of 56.6%, and measurable housing and employment gains among graduates.
Laura Yari, Marathon County’s justice programs coordinator, opened the Public Safety Committee meeting with a concise overview of the county’s treatment court, describing it as “an evidence based specialized court program” designed for high‑risk, high‑need people with substance use disorders. She said the court is team‑based, requires weekly court appearances and a minimum program length of roughly 14 months, and uses frequent drug testing and housing supports to promote rehabilitation.
Michael Schultz, the county’s data officer, walked the committee through annual data visualizations built from the DOJ’s CORE system and Marathon County’s Power BI reports. He emphasized standardized, participant‑level reporting across counties and showed year‑by‑year counts of referrals and admits. He noted that “in 2022 we had 74 referrals” but only 15 new admits, underscoring that many referrals do not meet program eligibility criteria. Schultz also reported that, across 2018–2025, the program recorded 58 graduates and presented median and average days in program to avoid skew from outliers.
The presentation included a state comparison: Marathon County’s five‑year success rate was shown at 58.8% versus a state dotted‑line average of 56.6% for the period the state report covered. Schultz and Yari cautioned that early startup years and the pandemic affected early outcomes and that omitting those startup years would change the calculated rate. Schultz said the report covers 2018 through 2025 (and that some 2026 year‑to‑date data were also pulled for timelier reporting).
Staff framed several operational details for committee members: participants are drug‑tested a minimum of three times per week, meet weekly with case managers and probation agents, and the program sometimes uses electronic monitoring and sober‑living placements. Yari also noted ongoing outreach — the county will present its data at the Wisconsin Treatment Court Professionals conference and held a participant/graduates picnic at Riverside Park the next day.
