Jack Aulik Award honors its namesake

Judge John F. "Jack" Aulik

The Wisconsin Association of Treatment Court Professionals awarded its first annual Jack Aulik Award posthumously to its namesake, the late John F. "Jack" Aulik.

Aulik, who served as a Dane County Circuit Court Judge from 1986 to 1998, is credited with launching the state's first drug treatment court. He died in 2001.

"It seems amazing that one person could create so much change," said Elliott Levine, association president and La Crosse County Circuit Judge.

Aulik's daughter, Camille Aulik, accepted the award during the association's annual conference held in Madison Feb. 7-8. The award will be presented each year in recognition of significant contributions by treatment court professionals.

Camille Aulik, right, accepted the first annual Jack Aulik Award on behalf of her late father at the Wisconsin Association of Treatment Court Professionals conference held in Madison Feb. 7-8. Also pictured is Deb Smith, director of the assigned counsel division of the State Public Defender's Office.

No one could have envisioned the eventual level of interest in drug treatment courts when Aulik started the Dane County program a decade ago, said Deb Smith, director of the assigned counsel division of the State Public Defender's Office.

When assigned to handle drug cases, Aulik recognized the system was ineffective at addressing many defendants' problems, and he decided to try something new, Smith said.

Initially, some judges were resistant and complained that they were not social workers, Smith said. But the idea of treatment courts caught on as a way to address the root problems of some offenders and to reduce recidivism and the demand for jail space.

Four recent "drug court" graduates shared their stories with conference attendees. Each explained how treatment court professionals helped them address some of their underlying problems. One talked about learning the tools to deal with her thoughts and emotions and commented, "It’s not easy being an addict, but it's all you know."

More than 100 participants attended the conference and heard from speakers on topics including Addiction and Mental Illness, Stigma and Treatment in the African-American Community, and Assessment and Risk Evaluation.

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