“Governor Evers finally seeking to end the consent decree is a good thing, and is absolutely the right thing to do. I am also disappointed that Lincoln Hills is still open.
“For the last eight years, Republicans have been trying to close and convert Lincoln Hills. In his first budget, Governor Evers sought to permanently delay the closing of Lincoln Hills without a comprehensive corrections plan. It took 7 years for him to present a plan.
“I wish the Governor would listen to the court-ordered monitor and develop a long-term strategy for getting youth with serious mental health needs out of Lincoln Hills into the expanded Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center. That, along with the opening of the Racine and Milwaukee SRCCCY’s, the opening of the Milwaukee Type 1 Facility, and the construction of the Type 1 Facility in Dane County, I see no reason that Lincoln Hills cannot be closed by the end of the biennium, and we can put this sad chapter behind us.”
