Andrew Kennard Journalist Profile

Articles

Shredding of legal mail by Wisconsin prisons worries advocates

Mar 24, 2025 | wisconsinexaminer.com | Andrew Kennard |Frank Zufall

The Office of the Wisconsin State Public Defender and other attorneys are expressing concerns over attorney-client confidentiality and the timely and accurate delivery of legal mail for clients incarcerated in state prisons. On Sept. 10, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) adopted a new policy for external paperwork sent to prisons.
Shredding of legal mail by Wisconsin prisons worries advocates

Mar 24, 2025 | apg-wi.com | Andrew Kennard |Frank Zufall

Attorney Steve Hurley with documents of the type Wisconsin prisons are shredding. | Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin ExaminerkAmkDA2? DEJ=6lQ7@?E\H6:89Ei c__jQm%96 ~77:46 @7 E96 (:D4@?D:? $E2E6 !F3=:4 s676?56C 2?5 @E96C 2EE@C?6JD 2C6 6IAC6DD:?8 4@?46C?D @G6C 2EE@C?6J\4=:6?E 4@?7:56?E:2=:EJ 2?5 E96 E:>6=J 2?5 244FC2E6 56=:G6CJ @7 =682= >2:= 7@C 4=:6?ED :?42C46C2E65 :? DE2E6 AC:D@?D] k^DA2?mk^Amk7:8FC6 :5lQ2EE249>6?E0bchbbQ 4=2DDlQHA\42AE:@?
Certified peer specialists offer help to people in Wisconsin prisons • Wisconsin Examiner

Feb 19, 2025 | wisconsinexaminer.com | Frank Zufall |Andrew Kennard

William Bowers is incarcerated at the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility in the city of Boscobel, in southwestern Wisconsin, a maximum security prison, where inmates’ behavior and activities are closely monitored. Bowers struggles with his mental health and self-harm, and is concerned about his safety. He said he has received help from a peer specialist. Through this state program, incarcerated people in Wisconsin are drawing on their personal experiences to mentor other prisoners.
Third-party review underway for Wisconsin prisons • Wisconsin Examiner

Jan 16, 2025 | wisconsinexaminer.com | Andrew Kennard

A consulting and management firm will begin on-site visits to Wisconsin prisons next week, the next step in a third-party review of the state’s prison system. Falcon Correctional and Community Services, Inc. “exists to elevate mental health services in jails and prisons” for incarcerated Americans with mental illness, according to the firm’s website.
Wisconsin’s Prisons Receiving Third-Party Review » Urban Milwaukee

Jan 16, 2025 | urbanmilwaukee.com | Andrew Kennard

Six month, $500,000 effort underway. Activists want engagement.
Third-party review underway for Wisconsin prisons

Jan 16, 2025 | apg-wi.com | Andrew Kennard

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What would it mean for state prisons if unions win the Act 10 legal fight?

Dec 19, 2024 | wisconsinexaminer.com | Andrew Kennard

Amidst a staffing crisis that worsened living conditions in Wisconsin prisons, the state gave corrections officers a large raise. The number of vacant positions for correctional officers and sergeants across state facilities has declined over 20% from a peak of 35%. But there’s still a struggle with working conditions, former correctional officer Joe Verdegan said.
‘First of its kind’ Wisconsin collaboration supports incarcerated youth with disabilities

Dec 12, 2024 | wisconsinexaminer.com | Andrew Kennard

When Randy Forsterling went to the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison at 16, he learned skills he still uses today, he told the Examiner. “I’m a machine operator,” Forsterling said. “I die cast, I make transmission casings and engine blocks for one of the largest corporations in the world.
Wisconsin DOJ Awarded $7 Million for Substance Abuse Treatment

Dec 11, 2024 | urbanmilwaukee.com | Andrew Kennard

The Wisconsin Department of Justice has been awarded a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to increase access to substance abuse treatment, the agency announced Friday. “Making treatment more accessible is important not only for those struggling with substance-use disorder but for public safety as well,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement acknowledging the grant.
Wisconsin DOJ receives $7M for substance abuse treatment • Wisconsin Examiner

Dec 9, 2024 | wisconsinexaminer.com | Andrew Kennard

by Andrew Kennard, Wisconsin Examiner December 9, 2024 The Wisconsin Department of Justice has been awarded a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to increase access to substance abuse treatment, the agency announced Friday.