People in Brown County whose addiction has sent them into the criminal justice system could soon have an alternative. As with the case with La Crosse County, officials are considering a partnership that would send eligible defendants to long-term addiction treatment in Wisconsin instead of jail. The proposed program adopts the program run by Adult and Teen Challenge of Northeastern Wisconsin in Howard.
Brown County Considers Treatment Instead of Jail
Jail is often temporary. Programs guide inmates’ behavior but then often send them back home with the same addiction, no new skills and a record that makes work hard to find.
In contrast, structured treatment attacks the cycle at its root. The proposed program is the one Vaushawn Johnson now leads in Green Bay. Johnson is very familiar with this model. Back in 2008, he faced jail and was given a choice of going to Adult and Teen Challenge. He picked treatment.
“It wasn’t as difficult for me because I had the ultimatum of going to prison or going to Adult Teen Challenge. That one was a better option.”
Johnson entered the program in Minnesota after addiction led him from drinking and using drugs to dealing at street corners and repeated run-ins with the law. He’s now 17 years sober.
The One-Year Program
Graduation requires more than staying clean. Participants must secure full-time employment, enroll in college or serve as an organization intern that might even lead to a career, as it did for Johnson. He pointed out the program builds practical life skills like auto detailing and woodworking alongside help finding employment and housing and learning to manage money.
That structure reflects how treatment works best when it teams counseling with the practicalities of building a stable life. Shorter programs, Johnson noted, are often the ones people usually try, but leave them in the same cycle.
Families across Wisconsin watching a loved one cycle through arrests can take heart. If adopted, it creates a formal route from the courtroom into a year of structured care. Even before any vote, it signals that local officials increasingly view addiction treatment as public safety policy, which tends to loosen funding and referral pathways over time.
Addiction & the Justice System
Addiction is a treatable health condition, and justice involvement is often a symptom rather than a cause of the underlying problem.
Common signs that substance use has become an addiction include continuing to use despite legal consequences, escalating risk-taking, relapses and withdrawal from family and work.
When jail time becomes part of the pattern, coordinated addiction treatment with real duration behind it offers a measurably better path than repeated short stays.
Addiction Treatment in Wisconsin & Beyond
Anyone who’s facing charges or repeated legal trouble tied to substance use should still find treatment. Look into detox for acute conditions alongside regular outpatient care.
You can start by browsing our directory to compare local programs, verify insurance and find a facility that fits your situation. Feel free to also dial
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