Expansion of Madison unit for juvenile offenders approved
May 6, 2021
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) The Wisconsin Legislature s budget committee voted unanimously Thursday to expand a mental health center in Madison to reduce the number of inmates at the state s juvenile prisons.
The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted to go along with Gov. Tony Evers plan to borrow up to $66 million to build a new unit at the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center in Madison. The new unit will be able to house up to 30 boys and 20 girls.
The will reduce the number of juveniles housed at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls which are located north of Wausau.
Lawmakers of both parties supported the expansion.
âThis is a strong positive step towards the closing of Lincoln Hills,â said Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, who serves as budget committee co-chair. âTodayâs action is very positive. Itâs a step in the right direction.â
Expanding the Mendota facility could help reduce the number of juveniles sent to Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake.
âThis will be the first time in Wisconsinâs history that we have a facility like that that will be able to help women and young girls,â said Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, a budget committee member.
âI think that investing in this now will not only save the state taxpayers money, which is very important, but more important and the ultimate goal of this is to give our youth, some whoâve had the most horrific starts in their lives, it will give them a chance and an opportunity to come back and hopefully have a happy, healthy and productive life as
By Naomi Kowles
May 6, 2021 | 3:39 PM
Republicans on the state’s budget writing committee removed hundreds of Gov. Ever’s proposals as the first day of a weeks-long budget writing process kicked off Thursday.
Voting on party lines, the sixteen-member committee ousted proposals like marijuana legalization, Medicaid expansion, and raising minimum wage.
“These ideas should be debated as part of the legislative process,” Joint Finance Committee co-chair and Republican Senator Howard Marklein said in a press conference before the meeting.
Republicans said they were going back to the baseline, using the most recent biennial budget as their blueprint for the rewrite of the more than $90 billion legislation.
Budget committee approves juvenile detention expansion at Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center journaltimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from journaltimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Could new therapy technique save maligned youth prisons?
By ROB MENTZER Associated Press April 26, 2021 12:01am Text size Copy shortlink:
MADISON, Wis. A new therapy technique at Wisconsin s Lincoln Hills youth prison holds the promise of making the facility safer for both staff and youth. But implementing it requires buy-in from an overworked, sometimes cynical prison staff and advocates for youth justice reform say it s not a substitute for the state s promise to close the facility for good.
Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, emphasizes communication and relationship-building between prison staff and youth inmates. State leaders say it means a culture change at the facility, and since la