Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 302 - Prisons; state, county and municipal.
302.045 - Challenge incarceration program.

302.045 Challenge incarceration program.
(1) Program. The department shall provide a challenge incarceration program for inmates selected to participate under sub. (2). The program shall provide participants with manual labor, personal development counseling, substance abuse treatment and education, military drill and ceremony, counseling, and strenuous physical exercise, for participants who have not attained the age of 30 as of the date on which they begin participating in the program, or age-appropriate strenuous physical exercise, for all other participants, in preparation for release on parole or extended supervision. The department shall design the program to include not fewer than 50 participants at a time and so that a participant may complete the program in not more than 180 days. The department may restrict participant privileges as necessary to maintain discipline.
(2) Program eligibility. Except as provided in sub. (4), the department may place any inmate in the challenge incarceration program if the inmate meets all of the following criteria:
(a) The inmate volunteers to participate in the program.
(b) The inmate has not attained the age of 40 as of the date the inmate will begin participating in the program.
(c) The inmate is incarcerated regarding a violation other than a crime specified in ch. 940 or s. 941.29 (1g) (a); a crime specified in s. 941.29 (1g) (b), not including s. 951.02, 951.08, 951.09, or 951.095; or a crime under s. 948.02 (3), 948.055, 948.075, or 948.095.
(cm) If the inmate is serving a bifurcated sentence imposed under s. 973.01, the sentencing court decided under s. 973.01 (3m) that the inmate is eligible for the challenge incarceration program.
(d) The department determines, during assessment and evaluation, that the inmate has a substance abuse problem.
(e) The department determines that the inmate has no psychological, physical or medical limitations that would preclude participation in the program.
(3) Parole eligibility. Except as provided in sub. (4), if the department determines that an inmate serving a sentence other than one imposed under s. 973.01 has successfully completed the challenge incarceration program, the parole commission shall parole the inmate for that sentence under s. 304.06, regardless of the time the inmate has served. When the parole commission grants parole under this subsection, it must require the parolee to participate in an intensive supervision program for drug abusers as a condition of parole.
(3m) Release to extended supervision.
(a) Except as provided in sub. (4), if the department determines that an inmate serving the term of confinement in prison portion of a bifurcated sentence imposed under s. 973.01 has successfully completed the challenge incarceration program, the department shall inform the court that sentenced the inmate.
(b) Upon being informed by the department under par. (a) that an inmate whom the court sentenced under s. 973.01 has successfully completed the challenge incarceration program, the court shall modify the inmate's bifurcated sentence as follows:
1. The court shall reduce the term of confinement in prison portion of the inmate's bifurcated sentence in a manner that provides for the release of the inmate to extended supervision within 30 days of the date on which the court receives the information from the department under par. (a).
2. The court shall lengthen the term of extended supervision imposed so that the total length of the bifurcated sentence originally imposed does not change.
(c) The court may not increase the total length of the bifurcated sentence when modifying a bifurcated sentence under par. (b).
(d) Upon receiving a court order modifying an inmate's bifurcated sentence, the department shall release the inmate within 6 working days, as defined in s. 227.01 (14) and as computed in s. 990.001 (4).
(e) A person released under this subsection, his or her residence, and any property under his or her control may be searched by a law enforcement officer at any time during his or her period of supervision if the officer reasonably suspects that the person is committing, is about to commit, or has committed a crime or a violation of a condition of release to extended supervision. Any search conducted pursuant to this paragraph shall be conducted in a reasonable manner and may not be arbitrary, capricious, or harassing. A law enforcement officer who conducts a search pursuant to this paragraph shall, as soon as practicable after the search, notify the department.
(4) Intensive sanctions program participants. The department may place any intensive sanctions program participant in the challenge incarceration program. The participant is not subject to subs. (2), (3) and (3m).
History: 1989 a. 122; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 218, 227, 491; 1995 a. 456; 1997 a. 283; 2001 a. 109; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 277; 2007 a. 116; 2009 a. 28; 2011 a. 38; 2013 a. 79; 2021 a. 227.
While an offender must meet the eligibility requirements of sub. (2) to participate in the challenge incarceration program, the trial court must, pursuant to s. 973.01 (3m), also determine if the offender is eligible for the program, in the exercise of its sentencing discretion. State v. Steele, 2001 WI App 160, 246 Wis. 2d 744, 632 N.W.2d 112, 00-2864.
Once the trial court has made an eligibility determination, the final placement determination is made by the department. This section provides that if an inmate meets all of the program eligibility criteria, the department “may" place that inmate in the program. It is not the sentencing court's function to classify an inmate to a particular institution or program. State v. Schladweiler, 2009 WI App 177, 322 Wis. 2d 642, 777 N.W.2d 114, 08-3119.

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