AB918: Bill Text

AB918,5,8 (k) The program will assist a veteran in pursuing and using all possible resources available through insurance and federal, state, and local aid programs, including cash, vouchers, and direct services, to assist in payment for any treatment for substance abuse or for any mental health treatment he or she receives in the program.

AB918,5,10 (L) The program will be developed with input from, and implemented in collaboration with, all of the following:

AB918,5,12 1. One or more circuit court judges, the district attorney, the state public defender, and local law enforcement officials who serve the county.

AB918,5,15 2. Each county agency that is responsible for providing social services, including services relating to substance abuse, child welfare, mental health, and the Wisconsin Works program.

AB918,5,17 3. The department of corrections, the department of children and families, and the department of health services.

AB918,5,19 4. Private social services agencies that provide services to veterans in the county.

AB918,5,20 5. Entities that provide substance abuse treatment to veterans in the county.

AB918,5,22 (m) The county complies with other eligibility requirements established by the department to promote the objectives listed in pars. (a) and (b).

AB918,6,4 (4) Joint applications. Two or more counties may jointly apply for and receive a grant under this section. If counties submit a joint application, they shall include with their application a written agreement specifying the role of each county in developing, administering, and evaluating the program. Each county receiving the grant shall provide the input and collaboration required under sub. (3) (L), and each county shall have its own separate representatives, as required under sub. (7) (a) 1. to 6., on the oversight committee.

AB918,6,8 (5) Awarding of grants. (a) The department shall award grants under this section to counties on a competitive basis. A county may apply for a grant under this section regardless of whether the county has received a grant previously under this section.

AB918,6,11 (b) The department shall inform any county that is applying for a grant under this section whether the county meets the requirements established under sub. (3), regardless of whether the county receives a grant.

AB918,6,14 (c) Any county that receives a grant under this section shall provide matching funds that are equal to 25 percent of the amount of the grant. The department shall assist the county in obtaining funding from other sources for its program.

AB918,6,17 (6) Contracts. In implementing a program that meets the requirements of sub. (3), a county may contract with, or provide funding to, a religious organization under s. 59.54 (27).

AB918,6,20 (7) Oversight. (a) A county that receives a grant under this section shall create an oversight committee to advise the county in administering and evaluating its program. Each committee shall consist of all of the following representatives:

AB918,6,22 1. A circuit court judge, the district attorney or his or her designee, and the state public defender or his or her designee.

AB918,6,23 2. The chairperson of the county board of supervisors or his or her designee.

AB918,6,25 3. A representative of each county agency that provides input under sub. (3) (L) 2.

AB918,7,2 4. A person representing the private social services agencies that provide input under sub. (3) (L) 4.

AB918,7,4 5. A person representing the entities that provide substance abuse treatment under sub. (3) (L) 5.

AB918,7,5 6. A county law enforcement officer.

AB918,7,7 (b) The chairperson of the county board of supervisors shall appoint the representatives specified par. (a) 4., 5., and 6. to the oversight committee.

AB918,7,10 (c) If the state public defender appoints a designee, he or she shall appoint an attorney who is an employee of the state public defender and who represents defendants in the county.

AB918,7,15 (d) A county that receives a grant under this section shall comply with any state audits and shall submit an annual report to the department and to the oversight committee created under par. (a) regarding the impact of the program on jail and prison populations and its progress in attaining the objectives specified in sub. (3) (b) and (e).

AB918,7,17 (e) Every 2 years the department shall evaluate the grant program under this section.

AB918,7,21 (8) Tests for substance abuse. In a program funded by a grant under this section, if urine collection for the purposes of a test for substance abuse results in the exposure of the genitals, pubic area, buttock, or anus of a veteran who is a participant in the program, all of the following shall apply:

AB918,7,23 (a) The person conducting the urine collection for purposes of the test is of the same sex as the participant.

AB918,7,25 (b) During the urine collection, the participant may not be visible to any person who is not conducting the urine collection.

AB918,8,1 (c) The urine collection is not recorded through a visual or sound recording.

AB918,8,3 (d) The participant's genitals, pubic area, buttock, and anus are not subject to any physical inspection beyond observation of the urine collection.

AB918,8,5 (e) All staff of the program strive to preserve the dignity of the participant during the test.

AB918,4 Section 4. Fiscal changes.

AB918,8,12 (1) In the schedule under section 20.005 (3) of the statutes for the appropriation to the department of veterans affairs under section 20.485 (2) (tf) of the statutes, as affected by the acts of 2013, the dollar amount is decreased by $250,000 for the first fiscal year of the fiscal biennium in which this subsection takes effect to provide funding for the veterans court grant program established under section 45.46 of the statutes, as created by this act.

AB918,8,13 (End)