Lawmakers Approve Funding, Positions for Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center

JFC co-chairs Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Mark Born said last week the committee finally received a response from DHS that answered some of the questions and concerns they’d raised. The lawmakers pictured addressing reporters in May 2023. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

Lawmakers on the powerful Joint Finance Committee approved 124 positions, estimated to cost about $12 million, for Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center last week, after holding up the request for six months.

The request for the positions were initially submitted by the state Department of Health Services in January. The positions are needed to help the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center, a facility in Madison that provides specialized treatment services for juveniles transferred from the Department of Corrections. The staff will meet the medical and behavioral needs of juveniles  at the facility as it seeks to expand from the current 29 beds to 94 beds. The expansion is part of a restructuring that will allow for the closure of the troubled Lincoln Hills youth facility.

After one lawmaker on the committee anonymously objected to the request, committee leaders asked for additional information about the positions, including a request for the agency to develop and provide a plan to the committee that considers whether there will be sufficient funding for additional costs and staffing. Gov. Tony Evers criticized the lawmakers for the delays.

The holdup became notable again after the death of Lincoln Hills counselor Corey Proulx, who was killed by a 16-year-old boy who was incarcerated there. Attorneys tried to get the youth moved to MJTC, but they were waiting to hear if there was space for him at the facility.

Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said last week that the committee finally received a response from DHS that answered some of the questions and concerns they’d raised.

“Republicans in the legislature have been strongly committed to the goal of closing Lincoln Hills and to improving juvenile corrections in Wisconsin. Our questions for DHS were to ensure that we were making responsible fiscal choices and we now believe that we are,” the lawmakers said in a statement.

The lawmakers also said the committee was not to blame for Proulx’s death, and that there could have been a “myriad of reasons why a transfer may be denied.” They said that if they had approved the positions in February, new staff wouldn’t have started training until August and new beds wouldn’t have been available until October.

“The fact is that Republicans in the legislature want to fix the problems in our correctional system, as evidenced by the significant investments we have made to increase staff pay, construct new facilities and expand MJTC,” the lawmakers said. “However, the Governor has adopted policies that undermine staff, put both staff and inmates at risk and ignore obvious issues. These are leadership problems. Not money problem”

“We appreciate the information DHS finally provided to us and we are optimistic that their plans will move toward positive results,” the statement continued. “The objection is lifted and we continue to move forward.”