Madison’s Community Development Division is attempting to initiate a nonprofit program to provide support systems for youths and families who appear before the Madison Municipal Court.
The new request for the proposal program seeks to bring positive outcomes from court appearances and reduce the re-incarceration rate in the city. Currently, 66 percent of offenders are likely to re-commit their crimes, according to the United Way of Dane County website. This is an issue the MMC Youth and Family Services program will address to ensure that youths do not continue their offenses.
Everett Mitchell, an assistant Dane County district attorney, emphasized the importance of providing support for troubled youths during a Race to Equity panel discussion April 2. Mitchell said University of Wisconsin law students should look into programs that provide the support youths and former criminals need to avoid first or future offenses.
Services the program aims to provide include supervised community service, life skills training, family counseling and employment support for families and youths brought before the MMC, according to the Community Development Division’s request for proposal.
The city is accepting applications from feasible bidders to carry out the project, which can be downloaded from the website. Applications from bidders must be submitted before the deadline on May 12 at 12 p.m.
