Milwaukee County reduces number of inmates in youth prisons By: Associated Press March 1, 2021
6:36 am
EDGAR MENDEZ
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
MILWAUKEE (AP) Although most of the attention paid to juvenile justice has come in response to the state’s failure to meet the January deadline to close the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth prisons, Milwaukee County officials continue to make strides to drastically reduce the number of local youth incarcerated in these institutions.
Mark Mertens, administrator of the Division of Youth and Family Services for Milwaukee County, said 22 local youth remain housed at these facilities.
“I’m hoping that the closing of Lincoln Hills is a moot point for us by the end of 2021,” said Mertens, who added that the total was 120 just a few years ago. “Our wildest hope was to get down below 50.”
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Program at Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center could be nationally unique. By Graham Kilmer - Dec 29th, 2020 03:22 pm //end headline wrapper ?>Sup. Ryan Clancy. File photo by Graham Kilmer.
Milwaukee County is going to develop a culinary program at the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center to teach incarcerated youth to cook and work in a kitchen.
The board of supervisors recently approved spending $500,000 to build out a commercial kitchen at the center. Once built, the county will work with the local restaurant industry to develop a program so the teens there can learn skills they can later use to gain employment.