Lincoln Hills program demoted

Course didn’t meet 6 of 8 mandates from national mental health group

MADISON – A national mental health group has downgraded its appraisal of a psychology internship program at Wisconsin’s youth prison complex, marking another bruise for state officials under scrutiny for conditions at the institution.

Now on probation, the program faces a greater risk of losing its accreditation from the American Psychological Association and more difficulty attracting interns who provide therapy to inmates at lower cost than licensed clinicians.

A Department of Corrections spokesman said state officials disagree with the change but declined to say whether they would appeal it in the next month. The internship program has been accredited by the APA since 1995.

The APA doesn’t comment on accreditation status changes. On its website, the group says probation is an “adverse action that serves as notice to the program, its students and the public” that a program is not consistent with APA mandates. Programs placed on probation are reviewed again by the APA one to two years later.

The APA told corrections officials in May that their psychology internship program at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls appeared to be noncompliant with six of eight mandates.

The APA raised concerns over excessive caseloads, inconsistent supervision, ethical lapses by staff, transparency problems and other issues.

It also questioned repeated assurances from corrections officials that conditions had improved.

The youth prison complex, about 30 miles north of Wausau, has been plagued with staff shortages and turnover since law enforcement authorities began investigating allegations of inmate abuse and other crimes at the institution in 2015.

A federal probe of the institution re-

mains ongoing.

No current or former staff have been charged, though more than a dozen workers have been fired or resigned.

The facility is also the subject of multiple lawsuits.

In response to a class-action lawsuit, a federal judge this summer ordered prison officials to reduce their use of pepper spray and solitary confinement.

News of problems at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake spread to the APA last year, prompting an inspection of the prison complex three years ahead of schedule.

Inspectors walked away particularly concerned about a series of abrupt exits involving top mental health staff.

Four people have overseen the internship program since 2015. Three left amid misconduct allegations and two later surrendered their licenses to practice in the state.

The current internship director, Melissa Parrent, was hired about a year ago.

In August, corrections officials assured the APA that the internship program was experiencing more stability under Parrent and her superiors. But then weeks later, the complex’s top administrator stepped down in the wake of criticism over her leadership.

Department of Corrections spokesman Tristan Cook said Tuesday that the state will take whatever steps are needed to ensure the program retains APA accreditation.

He said the APA’s concerns have been addressed, noting that interns now receive more training opportunities and several licensed clinicians now share supervision duties.

Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.