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Parisi sticks to improving education
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by Kelsi Schindler
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Since Rep. Joe Parisi, D-Madison, was elected to the state Assembly's 48th District in 2004, he has been an active advocate for education and juvenile justice reformation.
A University of Wisconsin alumnus, Parisi said he is a prime example of someone who has been able to succeed as a result of the work and help of others in the past.
"I was a high school drop-out, and when I decided to turn my life around, the generation before me had made resources available to ensure my success," Parisi said. "I might not have a college education today if it wasn't for the opportunities I was given."
During the past two years in office, Parisi said he has worked to create similar opportunities making it possible for future generations to attend college.
"I'm trying to make tuition affordable by increasing the amount of student aid," he said. "I think the state should match this aid dollar for dollar."
Parisi said he also questions the priorities of the majority party's long-term view of Wisconsin. He added Republicans in control of the Legislature have been focusing on trivial issues that do nothing to improve the state as a whole.
"[Wisconsin] must continue to be an attractive place with available and affordable education," he urged. "The UW is part of the economic system that runs our state."
And according to Parisi, there isn't a shortage of solutions to the problems plaguing Wisconsin; instead, there is a shortage of political will.
He said the real "meat and potato" issues like education reform were ignored in the last session. This, he said, is concerning because education must be accessible and affordable to everyone.
Additionally, he said he has enjoyed working to improve the juvenile justice system.
"There are so many people getting caught up in the corrections system and many don't belong there," Parisi said.
Although some of Parisi's colleagues in the Assembly disagree with his political views, many admire his efforts in state government.
Committee Chair Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, said in an e-mail that Parisi contributes by bringing "Madison activism" to the committee.
Though Bies does not oppose Parisi's juvenile justice reformation advocacy, Bies said he would "urge caution" on the issue, adding preventative measures must be taken to ensure criminals will not become repeat offenders or prison inmates.
Fellow committee member Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, agreed, calling Parisi "thoughtful but a bit too partisan when it comes to corrections policy."
To help inmates deal with their addictions, Parisi recently proposed Assembly Bill 866 — otherwise known as the Earned Release Program — which would release nonviolent offenders early on parole or extended supervision if they had fulfilled certain rehabilitation requirements.
"Our prisons are bursting with nonviolent offenders on the road to recovery," Parisi said. "This is not being soft on crime — it's being smart on crime."
However, opposing party members continue to debate the validity of the Earned Release Program.
"[AB 866] might as well be called the let 'em out early program," Suder said. "A catch and release policy should apply to anglers, not criminals."
Parisi said that people are not given the opportunity to overcome their addictions, and through this "extensive program," they would be given this opportunity and would be more likely to succeed when released.
In working with such potential programs, Parisi said he draws his inspiration from ensuring a positive future for the people of Wisconsin.
"Knowing that I can come to work in the morning and make a difference or help someone succeed is very inspiring," he said. "I couldn't ask for a better job description than that."
Anonymous (April 6, 2006 @ 9:21pm):
As the mother of a 25-year-old UW-Madison student who is paying his own way through school, I applaud Joe Parisi's initiatives to make college more affordable. As a teacher in a state correctional institution (which happens to be in Scott Suder's district), I greatly appreciate and encourage Parisi's efforts to reverse the terrible damage done to people's lives and to Wisconsin's economy by Truth in Sentencing (TIS).
TIS was a popular movement among the law-and-order, lock 'em up and throw away the key legislators about eight years ago. What they didn't seem prepared for was the huge expense of incarcerating so many people for such long sentences. Each adult offender costs WI taxpayers about $28,000 annually. Wisconsin's crime statistics and population are roughly equivalent to Minnesota's, yet we have about 22,000 men and women incarcerated and thousands more on parole or probation. Minnesota has only about 8,000 incarcerated. A huge proportion of the WI offenders are locked up for simple parole violations and non-violent crimes like possession and sale of drugs.
Wisconsin's recidivism rate is among the lowest in the country- only about 48% of released offenders return to prison withing three years of release. If inmates were receiving the programs, counseling, and education they need to be successfully reintegrated into the community, fewer would return to prison after release. Unfortunately, many inmates spend years on waiting lists for appropriate vocational education programs, AODA treatment, and behavior modification programs. Too many leave prison without receiving the treatment they need.
To Wisconsin's credit, Corrections Secretary Matt Frank has launched initiatives aimed at efficiently providing offenders with the programs and education that have been proven to improve offenders' lives and chances for success. Joe Parisi's earned release plan should be passed by an enlightened legislature and offered to inmates who have worked hard to stay out of trouble and complete their treatment and education. If offenders receive no incentives to improve their behavior, they are much liklier to act disruptively as they wait endlessly to receive their programs.
Those of us in the trenches would be much more effective at teaching inmates the vocations and habits they need to earn an honest living if our prison education departments could be expanded with additional staff, space, and equipment to offer more and better academic and vocational classes.
Scott Suder needs to learn that we are not a penitentiary system developed to punish offenders with years of tedious waiting and isolation from their families. We have a correctional system designed for two major purposes: to protect civil society from criminally dangerous individuals and to educate and counsel those offenders so they live productive lives after they are released.
I am deeply grateful to lawmakers who understand the combined plights of Wisconsin's taxpayers, the offenders who are working to change their lives, and the dedicated teachers, social workers, chaplains, and mental health workers who are trying to help offenders see better ways to live.
