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Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center

Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center is one of two secure treatment centers operated by the Division of Care and Treatment Services. Established in 2001, it houses Wisconsin's Sexually Violent Persons Program.

Making Wisconsin safer by reducing sexual violence

Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center enhances public safety by:

  • Assessing individuals for commitment purposes under Wis. Stat. ch. 980.
  • Treating and teaching patients with a history of sexual aggression toward the goal of providing a safe return to the community.
  • Preparing individuals ordered by a court to be returned to the community in a manner that reduces the opportunities for sexually violent reoffending.
  • Researching the causes and treatment of sexually violent people.

Commitment and release controlled by the courts

As of August 31, 2023, Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center is home to 191 adult men who are referred for possible commitment after they have completed their sentence within the Department of Corrections. Men are transferred to Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center when the Department of Justice or a county district attorney files a petition for commitment. Commitment through this court process requires that the individual has a mental disorder that predisposes them to commit future acts of sexual violence. The individual also must be more likely than not to sexually reoffend in their lifetime. On admission, patients are assessed for cognitive and functional levels and level of mental disorder. Based upon this assessment, patients are placed in a treatment track designed to address individual treatment needs to lower their risk of reoffending.

Patients committed to treatment at Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center have the opportunity to periodically petition their committing court for release, as progress in treatment is an expectation of any treatment program. If the committing court determines a person has reached a point in their treatment in which they are no longer more likely than not to reoffend, the court will order them either released to the community as a client of the Supervised Release Program, which offers monitoring, treatment, and supports to aid in the transition to community life, or released directly to the community from Sand Ridge Secure Secure Treatment Center with no supervision, treatment, and supports. Whether placed on supervised release or directly discharged: the individual is included on the Wisconsin sex offender registry maintained by the Department of Corrections.

Last revised September 15, 2023