State fires Lincoln Hills therapist
Psychologist failed to see 26 inmates
MADISON - The state Department of Corrections fired a psychologist at the state’s trouble-laden juvenile prison in December — making him the third one to leave the facility under a cloud in a year.
The dismissal of psychologist Derek Jeremy John for failing to see more than 20 inmates over three months came a year after the state fired chief psychologist Vincent Ramos in December 2015 for taking photos of interns in a hotel room while he was wearing only an undershirt and boxers. Ramos last month surrendered his psychologist license to settle an investigation into his behavior at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, which have been under criminal investigation for more than two years.
John, who made about $81,500 a year, was fired last December for ignoring requests for help from dozens of inmates. In a settlement last week, his termination was changed to a resignation.
The Associated Press first reported Thursday on John’s termination and settlement.
John’s departure is the latest sign of turmoil at the facility 30 miles north of Wausau and comes after Gov. Scott Walker’s administration has said problems with psychological services there have been resolved.
A third Lincoln Hills psychologist, Wilson Fowle, retired in March 2016 amid an investigation that found he had filed reports saying he had treated inmates on days he did not work and called an inmate’s mother when phone records showed he hadn’t. A state prosecutor last year said charges for falsifying records could be filed against Fowle, but state and federal officials have not said whether that is still being considered.
Prosecutors have not said when they will wrap up their wide-ranging investigation of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, which is focused on child abuse, prisoner neglect and civil rights violations.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin in January sued the state to curb the use of solitary confinement and pepper spray. That case could continue for months or years.
In December, Lincoln Hills officials determined John had failed to provide mental health services to 26 juvenile inmates who requested help from August to November, according to state records. Also, John repeatedly missed deadlines his bosses gave him to provide reports needed to maintain accreditation for the prison’s psychological internship program.
“It is simply unacceptable for an employee to disobey employer instructions and your failure to follow several directives was insubordination,” Lincoln Hills Superintendent Wendy Peterson wrote in John’s
termination letter.
“Additionally, as a professional licensed psychologist, you have an ethical duty to provide mental health services to youth under our care. Failure to do so could have resulted in irreparable damage to both the youth population and staff.”
John did not return a phone call, but in a written response to his bosses, he contended he was given an impossible workload. That sentiment is in line with the claims of current and former Lincoln Hills guards, who say the long hours and demands of the job make it an exceedingly difficult workplace.
“I was given more work than what was physically possible to complete within the time that I was given to complete it in,” John wrote in December.
Tristan Cook, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said psychological services are being appropriately provided at Lincoln Hills under the department’s current team.
Melissa Parrent is Lincoln Hills’ chief psychologist and Tracy Johnson is the department’s juvenile mental health director.
“Dr. Parrent and Dr. Johnson have the full support of both (Division of Juvenile Corrections) and DOC leadership to ensure that the Department of Corrections is providing quality mental health services to all youth in DOC custody or on DOC supervision,” Cook said by email.
State Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) said she was not familiar with John’s case but is troubled by the deluge of news stories about problems plaguing Lincoln Hills.
“This is deeply, deeply disturbing,” she said. “We have to do better. We have a moral obligation as a State of Wisconsin facility to protect these children.”
John worked at Lincoln Hills for 17 years. He was given a written reprimand in 2013 for bringing a shotgun shell onto the prison’s grounds and then denying he had done so to the facility’s security director, according to state records.
“When questioned about it, you reacted much like the youth we work with, by not telling the truth and avoiding responsibility,” then-Superintendent Paul Westerhaus wrote to John at the time.