Incarceration
In the United States, people are put in jail or prison at a significantly higher rate compared to other countries.
In fact, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any independent democracy on earth (Prison Policy Institute, 2024). This is a major public health issue that affects people's health in many ways. Being jailed or imprisoned happens for different social, economic, and political reasons.
Factors that can increase jail time or involvement in the criminal justice system include:
living in poverty
inability to find safe and affordable housing
attending poorly funded schools
experiencing stress and discrimination
lack of access to mental health and substance use treatment services
Our team works in collaboration with the Wood County Jail & community partners to work towards accomplishing the following goals:
Reduce incarceration, recidivism, & revocation rates.
Improve access to mental health & substance use disorder treatment services for justice-involved populations.
Eliminate the unfair burdens that incarceration imposes on marginalized groups.
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Resources for Re-entry to the Community After Jail or Prison
This brochure includes resources for people who are released from the Wood County Jail. This brochure includes local, statewide, and national resources.
Fresh Start: get ready to conquer life like a boss! To find out more, click here.
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Prison Policy Initiative - Wisconsin Profile
This resource provides detailed data on Wisconsin’s criminal justice system.
To find out more, click here.
Vera Institute of Justice-Incarceration Trends in Wood County
Wood County data on incarceration rates, demographics, and more. You can also find Wisconsin and National data on their website.
To find out more, click here.
Human Impact Partners - Excessive Revocations in Wisconsin
This is a report about the negative impacts of putting people in jail or prison without a new conviction.
To find out more, click here.
“Wisconsin has an incarceration rate of 615 per 100,000 people, meaning that it locks up a higher percentage of its people than almost any democratic country on earth.”
- Prison Policy Initiative