As Dane County officials prepare to vote on their budget Monday night, some county supervisors have offered a last minute amendment to address racial disparity.

In light of a recent report from the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, “Race to Equity,” Supervisor Shelia Stubbs, District 23, said the amendment, totaling $151,412, would work toward changing the culture in the county.

“For people that are not a person of color in the city of Madison or Dane County, it appears to give you all of these privileges and is very welcoming,” Stubbs said. “But if you are a person of color you are struggling in so many capacities […] you are treated so differently.”

Supervisor Melissa Sargent, District 18, said one of the initiatives is a community court for youth that would basically have no costs. She said because it would be community volunteers, there is not any funding involved.

“The biggest expense here is wages, and then the community and that [staff] person will be working in the community to create a system that is self-sustaining, so community members will step up and when they do that there is no cost,” Sargent said.

Stubbs said the purpose of the court is to address the high numbers of local youth involved in the criminal justice system. According to the report, the majority of those incarcerated in the county are African American.

Stubbs said once someone is in the system, data on that person can be accessed by potential employers or even apartment landlords. She said this can plague youth offenders long into their future.

The court would be mainly for those who commit misdemeanors and non-violent crimes, Stubbs said. She said the community has yet to decide where to hold the court and is looking into ways to conduct it.

Sargent said the board hopes the initiative may also help the county save money by cutting costs for jails and courts.

“Everyday someone goes to court that costs money, and that costs a lot more than intervention and prevention, which this initiative is,” Sargent said.

Stubbs said another new initiative is to establish an apprenticeship program to provide people with the skills they need to make a living wage, as African Americans are 5.5 times more likely to be unemployed than white people in the county.

Sargent added the program would work with local unions and tradespeople in the community to teach specific job skills. She said a similar program has been successful in Milwaukee County.

Mayor Paul Soglin included money for a similar program in the city budget.

Stubbs said the board recognizes that to help residents out of poverty, they need to be able to get jobs they can both retain and excel at.

“I’ll be honest, you have to give people a hand up and give them good, self-sustaining jobs so they can provide for their families,” Stubbs said.

She added the program could provide people with “life-changing” skills.

Stubbs said the problem of racial disparity is a personal one for her, and she looks forward to having an open discussion on the issue.

“As the only African American at the county board level, it is my life,” Stubbs said. “I live it every day and so it is personal for me […] [Dane County does] a great job hiding our issues and now our issues are being exposed, and now we have to talk about it.”