A451 Enclosed you will find a copy of the report entitled "State-Funded High/Scope All-Day Five-Year-Old Kindergarten Program and State-Funded High/Scope First Grade Program." This report summarizes the projects and data collected for the 1996-1997 school year.

This report was prepared in response to Sections 119.71, 119.73, and 119.75 of the current state statutes.

In accordance with s. 560.03(15), the Department of Commerce is required to submit an annual report to the legislature analyzing the use of IRB financing authorized under Section 66.521 of Wisconsin Statutes, and report on the benefits of that use. The Department of Commerce is also required to submit a summary of the employment impact estimates required under Section 560.034(2) of Wisconsin Statutes.

I am respectfully submitting the attached Industrial Revenue Bond Activity Report. If you have any question concerning ;the report or would like to obtain copies, please contact Deb Daly in the Division of Community Development at 608/267-3895.

I am please to provide you with the accompanying report of the State of Wisconsin Ethics Board's activities for the year July 1996 through June 1997. This report provides information on the Board's operations and contains the texts of Wisconsin's Ethics Code and lobbying law. It also includes a description of complaints and investigations pursued by the Ethics Board, and summaries of advisory opinions issued by the Board during the year.

As directed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, we have completed an evaluation of state corrections costs. Expenditures for incarcerating adults in state correctional facilities have increased 129.4 percent in the past ten years, from $121.6 million in fiscal year (FY) 1985-86 to $279 million in FY 1995-96. This increase accounts for a growing proportion of state general purpose revenue spending, and the Department of Corrections predicts both expenditures and adult inmate populations will continue to increase into the foreseeable future.

Wisconsin's per inmate costs are slightly higher than the national average but close to the average of other midwestern states. Security staff costs are the largest component of overall costs, and while Wisconsin's inmate-to-staff ratio of 4.5 to 1 was the same as the national average, it is slightly below the midwestern average of 4.8 to 1. Shortcomings in the Department's record-keeping systems prevent detailed analyses of other departmental costs, such as rehabilitation or social services programs, or comparisons of such costs and services among institutions. For example, although we estimate the Department spends approximately $16.2 million annually on non-work rehabilitation programs, neither the effect of these programs nor why some inmates' rehabilitation needs are met and others are not can be readily determined.

In an effort to reduce overcrowding and reduce expenditures, the Department is increasingly contracting both to house inmates in non-department facilities and for food, health, and other services within its own facilities. Daily costs to house inmates in Texas jails and federal prison are lower than the Department's housing costs, while daily costs to house inmates in Wisconsin county jails are higher. In addition, the cost of contracting for health and food services at the Prairie du Chien facility exceeds the Department's average cost for direct provision of those services at facilities of similar size. Because bids have not yet been sought for services at the new Boscobel facility, these contracting costs cannot be analyzed. We have included suggestions for contracting guidelines to ensure that future contracts better meet the goals of the State.

We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the Department of Corrections. The Department's response is the Appendix.