acity of 1,114. Since that time, the facility, located in Franklin, Wisconsin, has added another 1,000 beds to the facility in two separate expansions. It is the largest criminal justice facility in the state of Wisconsin (Chandler, 1999).
It might be helpful to provide some of the details of the living facilities. As Chandler (1999) described it, they are like great gray dormitories with rows of bunk beds covered with plastic mattresses. Each dormitory has stainless-steel tables, one television, phone trees, and eight toilets exposed behind a glass wall. There is a row of sinks and a communal shower. Each of these dormitories houses 50 residents. Each resident costs the taxpayer only $22.20 per day in services, which include three meals, classes, treatment sessions, and work programs. The work programs, as with most prison facilities, provide little promise for future opportunities. Welding is the class that is most frequently chosen.
Along with the overcrowding which is, in itself, a health problem given the health issues that inmates bring with them into the facility. These can include such problems as substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and such seemingly minor problems as infections associated with tattooing and body piercing. Braithwaite et al. (1999) noted that both tattooing and body piercing, in an incarcerated population, can serve as vehicles for the transmission of HIV.
However, there are prevention models available for work with prisoners, and certainly for populations in the streets who might eventually become imprisoned. The Aids Resource Center of Wisconsin has developed a harm reduction model, similar to the harm reduction model used in alcoholism treatment. This approach accepts that some people might continue to use drugs, for example, but emphasizes needle exchange, sterilizing needles, and refusing to share needles with other people. Staff works with the highest risk populations including ...