Governor Evers names site for Milwaukee-area Type I facility, bringing Lincoln Hills & Copper Lake one step closer to closure

 MADISON – Today Governor Evers announced the location for the Milwaukee-area Type I facility for incarcerated youth. This is an important step to finally close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake as juvenile prisons and make 2017 Act 185 a reality.

“I am proud to see state and local entities successfully work together in choosing a site for the new Type I facility. I’m also proud to have helped lead the charge to close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake since 2015. Today’s announcement is a meaningful step towards enacting ‘The Wisconsin Model’ of juvenile justice envisioned when the Legislature unanimously passed 2017 Act 185.

Once completed, Wisconsin’s new network of juvenile services will include expanded mental health treatment, modernized local options, and the new Type 1 facility located in Milwaukee. Together, this network of options signals Wisconsin’s commitment to a new, more efficient and effective delivery of services for kids in the juvenile justice system.”

Passed by the legislature unanimously, 2017 Act 185 began the process of closing Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake juvenile prisons and adopting a new closer-to-home model of juvenile corrections in Wisconsin. To accomplish the statewide transformation of juvenile corrections, a new network of facilities in Wisconsin will include three different systems: Secure Residential Care Centers for Youth (SRCCY’s) operated by Counties; the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center operated by the State Department of Health Services; and a Type-1 correctional facility operated by the State Department of Corrections.

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