For many Milwaukee residents returning from incarceration, the difference between stability and setback can hinge on a single document: a valid driver’s license.
Without one, everyday responsibilities can become barriers that undermine a person’s successful return to the community, said Jay Tucker, administrator of community reintegration services at Wisconsin Community Services.
Tucker helps oversee the organization’s long-running driver’s license recovery program, which helps people get back their licenses after suspensions or revocations.
Although the program serves a broad range of low-income Milwaukee residents, Tucker said the loss of a driver’s license is especially destabilizing for people returning from incarceration, particularly as they look for work.
“There’s already a stigma there,” Tucker said. “If I’m already checking a box on an application just to get the job, and now I may not have this valid work credential, it amplifies that stigma.”
Black and poor residents overrepresented
Suspended and revoked driver’s licenses disproportionately affect the city’s Black and low-income residents, said Clarence Johnson, president and CEO of Wisconsin Community Services.
In Wisconsin, most license suspensions and revocations are not tied to dangerous driving but to unpaid fines and forfeitures.
According to Wisconsin Department of Transportation data from 2024, failure to pay forfeitures accounted for more than 44% of revocations and suspensions statewide – far more than operating while intoxicated or point-based violations.
For many, that process starts with a single ticket, said Taffie Foster-Toney, lead case manager for the license recovery program.
“You get one citation, you’re not able to pay it and then it snowballs,” Foster-Toney said.
Breaking a cycle
Shakia Thompson, 33, a Milwaukee resident, mother and student, said the cycle was hard to break.
“My license was suspended because I had a lot of operating-after-suspension tickets,” Thompson said. “I would get on a payment plan, get my license back and then get another ticket.”
With work and family responsibilities, she said, staying on top of court appearances became difficult.
“With me working a lot, I wasn’t always able to attend court,” Thompson said. “So it just kept keeping me behind, and I kept owing and owing.”
How the program works
The driver’s license recovery program at Wisconsin Community Services began in 2010.
It serves Milwaukee residents who meet federal poverty guidelines, have a suspended or revoked Wisconsin driver’s license and meet other eligibility guidelines.
Foster-Toney said the process begins with intake and a detailed review of a participant’s driving record.
Individuals are then paired with attorneys through Legal Action of Wisconsin and work case by case to resolve issues across multiple courts and counties.
Options may include payment plans or community service.
Thompson said the payment plan option helped her considerably.
“There were times that I wasn’t able to pay a fine, and then I would get backed up on other bills. So it really helped in the long run,” she said.
Participants can also attend a financial literacy workshop. In return, the program pays up to $60 in Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles fees once an individual is eligible for reinstatement.
Public safety benefits
Johnson said helping people regain licenses benefits the broader community.
“People who have valid driver’s licenses tend to be safer drivers,” he said. “When you have assets in your life, you’re much more inclined to make good judgment decisions. The driver’s license program offers hope. It’s a lifeline.”
Thompson said she shares information about the program widely, especially with people balancing many responsibilities, such as family and work.
“I tell a lot of people about it,” she said. “A lot of ladies in school that don’t have their license.”
After getting her license back last summer, Thompson said she’s focused on keeping it.
“I’m doing great with my payment plans, and I have my license,” she said. “I’m moving forward.”
How to connect
Wisconsin Community Services receives referrals from courts, parole agents, nonprofit organizations, city agencies, police officers, Milwaukee Area Technical College and the mayor’s office.
The program is housed at Milwaukee Area Technical College’s downtown campus and accepts walk-ins.
Eligibility requirements are:
- A suspended or revoked Class D driver’s license
- City of Milwaukee residency
- Income that meets federal poverty guidelines
- No valid license within the past eight years and completion of the DMV written test within the past 12 months
- No operating-while-intoxicated charges, suspensions or revocations related to operating while intoxicated
People can contact Wisconsin Community Services at 414-297-6407 for more information.
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