Plan to close problem-plagued Lincoln Hills teen prison hits obstacles.

Reform group, county officials oppose latest proposal

MADISON – A plan to close the state’s problem-plagued teen prison is hitting road blocks as lawmakers rush to approve it before they wrap up the legislative session in the coming weeks.

The latest sign of trouble emerged Friday when the reform group Youth Justice Milwaukee — long a proponent of closing Lincoln Hills School for Boys north of Wausau — came out against the latest proposal, Assembly Bill 953.

Its opposition emerged a day after county officials from around the state took issue with aspects of the plan that would put them in charging of running new juvenile lockups.

Lawmakers are in a race against the clock. Assembly leaders plan to wrap up their work for the year on Thursday. Senate leaders hope to finish in March.

State officials have known about rampant problems at the prison for six years, but Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers did not seek a comprehensive overhaul of juvenile justice until recently, at the tail end of the legislative session.

Lincoln Hills and its sister facility on the same grounds, Copper Lake School for Girls, are the subject of multiple lawsuits and a criminal investigation into prisoner abuse that has been going on for three years.

Republicans control both houses, but have been working closely with

State officials have known about rampant problems at the prison for six years, but Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers did not seek a comprehensive overhaul of juvenile justice until recently, at the tail end of the legislative session.

Democrats on their plan to close Lincoln Hills and replace it with regional teen lockups — some run by the state and some by counties.

Their plan is a modification of one offered by the GOP governor last month that would establish five state-run juvenile facilities.

Lawmakers working on the measure said they would spend the coming days developing amendments to accommodate critics.

The Assembly is slated to take up the bill on Wednesday and backers want to make sure it can also get through the Senate, where there has been less enthusiasm for it.

On Friday, the co-founders of Youth Justice Milwaukee, Sharlen Moore and Jeffery Roman, slammed the bill.

“As written, this bill seems to prioritize scoring political points over the needs of Wisconsin’s youth,” the pair said in a statement. “Governor Walker is rushing this deeply flawed bill so he can make closing Lincoln Hills an election-year talking point — even if he hasn’t really solved the problem.”

They contended the bill would replace Lincoln Hills with “smaller versions of the same thing” and divert resources away from treatment.

County officials have said they are worried about the tight timetable for the proposal, which would see Lincoln Hills closed by July 2020. They also fear it could drive up their costs and create legal liabilities for them.

Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) said he was working on changes to the bill that would help counties manage their costs and establish clear rules for when inmates could be transferred between county and state facilities. He said he thought he could work out the concerns raised by Youth Justice Milwaukee, as well.

“To say the legislation creates new mini-Lincoln Hills is not accurate,” he said.

Under the bill, the state would run the facilities holding the most serious offenders and counties would run the ones keeping those who committed lesser crimes.

Now, the state pays for housing the most serious teen offenders and counties pay for the others at a rate of $390 per day per inmate, or more than $142,000 a year per youth.

That would remain the same under the legislation, though backers believe that counties will be more efficient and will save money.

Counties could establish their own facilities; partner with other counties to run them jointly; or contract with other counties to hold their juveniles. The state would pay 95% of the cost of refurbishing county facilities or building new ones.

Under the bill, the state Department of Corrections would oversee the state facilities housing the serious offenders. The state Department of Children and Families would have a say in how the county facilities are run, which backers contend would help make sure the focus of the lockups is on treatment.