System dealing with more serious offenses; county urged to enhance evaluation of new programs
The youth justice system in Milwaukee County now operates at roughly its pre-pandemic capacity, but it is seeing more severe offenses committed by youth in Wisconsin’s largest county, according to a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report.
From 2018 to 2023, felony offense referrals to Milwaukee County Children, Youth, and Family Services increased 13%, with even more significant growth in certain violent felonies such as armed robbery or homicide.
County officials point to a broader range of programming compared to prior years, including new alternatives to placing juveniles in state-administered secure detention facilities and more intensive efforts to provide services to youth in community-based settings. But the jury is still out on the effectiveness of such programs in achieving better outcomes and reducing recidivism.
“County leaders – while justifiably proud of their efforts to create alternatives to state-run secure detention facilities – now need to take an important next step to demonstrate that these alternatives are enhancing public safety and producing better results for the young people they are serving,” the report finds.
A shift to more serious offenses
The Forum’s 2023 report, “Under Pressure,” explored how the pandemic affected the adult justice system in Milwaukee County. In this report – again sponsored by the Greater Milwaukee Committee and Milwaukee-based Argosy Foundation – we turn our focus to the county’s youth justice system. While some aspects of this system mirror its adult counterpart, differences include the youth system’s emphasis on rehabilitation, as well as the role of county human services workers to support the youth and family throughout the judicial process.
Our report’s analysis relies in part on referral data from Milwaukee County Children, Youth, and Family Services (CYFS). Such referrals typically mark the onset of proceedings with CYFS, often after a youth has had an interaction with law enforcement.
These data show that from 2018 to 2024, 7,216 youth were referred to CYFS (in some cases more than once) for a total of 9,790 referrals. Referrals declined from 2018 to 2020 before increasing sharply in 2021, plateauing for the next two years, and declining slightly in 2024. However, 2024 referrals (1,450) were on par with 2018 levels (1,479).
About half of referrals to the youth justice system involve repeat offenders. We also found that from 2018 to 2023, 78% of referrals that included a full assessment screening at intake involved a youth with a mental health condition, an alcohol or other drug abuse condition, or both.
During this period, while referrals for felony offenses increased 13%, referrals for misdemeanor offenses decreased 7%. Among felony offenses, notable growth occurred in referrals for first-degree homicide, armed robbery, terrorist threats, and taking and driving a vehicle without consent.
Dispositions tell similar story
For those who enter the criminal justice system, the final outcome is called a “disposition.” Among the more than 8,400 juvenile justice referrals to CYFS from 2018 to 2023, the most common disposition was probation (3,600 dispositions, or 43%), while prosecution was not pursued in 1,780 cases (21%). The most severe dispositions – sentencing to a secure detention facility administered by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and waiver or referral to adult court — accounted for a combined 6%.
From 2018 to 2023, probation dispositions grew by 18%, while dispositions in which prosecution was declined fell by 19% (72). This is consistent with referral data showing that court cases have become more serious in nature. The number of dispositions that involved sentencing to secure detention under the purview of the DOC also declined, but this likely has more to do with the ongoing challenges at state juvenile corrections facilities than a decline in the severity of crimes.
The county’s Vel Phillips Youth and Family Justice Center includes a secure care facility that serves
youth pending disposition of their case. In 2024, admissions and discharges fell slightly below 2018 totals. Still, the county facility has faced significant capacity challenges at times since late 2021.
Shift to alternatives to detention in state facilities
In recent years, the center has seen an expanded role in post-disposition secure care via the designation of 24 beds for the Milwaukee County Accountability Program (MCAP). This program was designed in part to respond to concern with the treatment of youth at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, as well as a desire to keep Milwaukee County youth closer to home and provide them more services. At its 2012 inception, 12 youth were enrolled in MCAP; by 2024, the program had 65 admissions. Meanwhile, commitments of Milwaukee County youth to Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake have decreased sharply, from 109 in 2015 to 40 in 2024.
The creation of MCAP has been accompanied by implementation of a broader range of community-based clinical, educational, and family-oriented services by CYFS, more intensive efforts to ensure the provision of effective case management, and the introduction of crime and violence prevention
programs targeted at youths.
The report concludes, however, that a key unanswered question is whether recent youth justice changes in Milwaukee County are producing better outcomes, both for the youth themselves and for public safety. Two relevant metrics are program completion and recidivism rates, but these are
tracked only across some programs, and often within narrow parameters.
The report suggests that standardizing methods by which the county and state track recidivism could help determine if MCAP and non-secure care alternatives produce better outcomes compared to sentences to state juvenile facilities. This would be particularly valuable as the county transitions to a new youth correctional facility in Wauwatosa, set to open in 2026. Click here to read the full report.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum is the state’s leading source of nonpartisan, independent research on state and local public policy. As a nonprofit, our research is supported by members including hundreds of corporations, nonprofits, local governments, school districts, and individuals. Visit wispolicyforum.org to learn more.
