Youth Advocates Remain Committed to Closing Wisconsin Youth Prisons Following Monitor’s Report
MILWAUKEE – The ACLU of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center today reaffirmed their support for closing Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools, following the release of a court-ordered monitor’s report evaluating the extent to which the facilities have complied with a 2018 Settlement Agreement. The ACLU and JLC are counsel for the youth detained at LHS and CLS.
The fifth monitoring report since settlement of the case contains both signs of progress and areas of concern. While the prisons have taken concrete steps toward meeting some requirements of the lawsuit — particularly eliminating the use of pepper spray — they remain lacking in programing, short on educators, are not providing adequate mental health care and rely too heavily on administrative confinement.
“Let’s be clear: prisons will never meet the needs of young people,” said Karen U. Lindell, Senior Attorney at Juvenile Law Center. “Even as Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake make some much-needed changes, the children imprisoned there continue to suffer. Wisconsin must implement and expand community-based alternatives to incarceration that offer youth the services and support they deserve.”
More about the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake
- Evers Proposes $45.8 Million for Milwaukee Juvenile Facility - Gretchen Schuldt - Mar 1st, 2021
- MKE County: County Has Just 22 Inmates in Youth Prisons - Edgar Mendez - Feb 24th, 2021
- Evers Pushes Juvenile Justice System Changes - Corri Hess - Feb 18th, 2021
- Youth Justice Milwaukee Calls for Transformation of the Wisconsin Youth Justice System as the State Acknowledges it Will Not Meet the July 2021 Deadline to Close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Prisons - Youth Justice Milwaukee - Feb 8th, 2021
- Pandemic Causes Youth Prison Problems - Graham Kilmer - Jan 27th, 2021
- Can State Rescue Youth Corrections Plan? - Graham Kilmer - Jan 11th, 2021
- State Can’t Meet Deadline to Close Youth Prisons - Graham Kilmer - Dec 30th, 2020
- MKE County: Crowley Defers Youth Corrections Grant Until State Has Sustainable Plan - Graham Kilmer - Sep 16th, 2020
- State Blows Up County Youth Corrections Plan - Graham Kilmer - May 20th, 2020
- Youth Advocates Remain Committed to Closing Wisconsin Youth Prisons Following Monitor’s Report - American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin - Mar 5th, 2020
Read more about Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake here