The Treatment Alternatives and Diversion program was established by the 2005 Wisconsin Act 25 to support county and efforts that provide treatment and diversion programs for non-violent adult offenders for whom substance abuse was a contributing factor in their criminal activity. As required by state statute, the TAD program is funded on a five-year cycle, and grants have been awarded to counties and tribes for calendar year 2024.  There have been numerous expansions of the TAD program with TAD programs now operating in 57 counties and 3 tribes in Wisconsin.

Funding for TAD programs has been increased over the years, to nearly $9.7 million for 2023 and 2024 each. Funded projects range from approximately 30 pre-charge and post-charge diversion programs at the initial prosecutorial decision-making stage to 60 treatment courts programs. TAD programs provide local jurisdictions with options to offer offenders the opportunity to enter diversion programs or treatment court programs, which typically involve drug and/or alcohol treatment, case management, and other risk reduction services as a safe alternative to jail or prison confinement.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is responsible for administering the TAD program, in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Director of State Courts Office, and the Wisconsin State Public Defender's Office. The State CJCC's Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) Subcommittee serves as the advisory body.

The State CJCC also endorsed a project to develop a web-based, integrated reporting system for problem-solving courts and diversion programs throughout Wisconsin.  This system, the Comprehensive Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation (CORE) Reporting System has been developed by DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Information and Analysis (BJIA). This system is used by local sites to report participant-level data for their TAD funded programs.  The system is also available to sites that do not receive grant funding and incorporates performance measures developed cooperatively with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) that are utilized by drug and hybrid courts across the state.