Judge: Problems persist
Treatment at Lincoln Hills still a concern, county officials say
Milwaukee County officials are still raising red flags about treatment of youths at a troubled North Woods youth prison, despite staffing and policy changes at the facility amid an ongoing federal probe of alleged abuses.
In a letter obtained late last week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee County Chief Judge Maxine White outlined several concerns about conditions at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls to Department of Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher.
Corrections officials said the department has not been able to substantiate any of the incidents in her letter.
“If Chief Judge White can provide additional details regarding her allegations to the Department of Corrections, DOC will investigate fully, and if necessary, discipline any employees who are not following DOC policies and procedures,” department spokesman Tristan D. Cook said in an email.
Cook said the department is “proactively following up” to get more information from White. Cook noted the state had instituted multiple changes at Lincoln Hills to safeguard juveniles after problems there became known.
White, Litscher and other officials met March 7. After that meeting, members of the county’s mental health professional team interviewed Milwaukee County youths in the facility.
White could not be reached for comment, but in the letter, she says the team either witnessed or received reports from youths about staff’s use of racial slurs to youth; lack of therapy provided to at least one youth who has repeatedly requested it; overuse of solitary confinement, particularly for youths with mental health issues; lack of timely medical attention; and inappropriate use of restraints.
One county team member was interviewing a DOC staff member when a youth reported hearing another inmate potentially overdose on pills. The staffer indicated a supervisor would be notified. About 15 minutes after the county member finished the interview, she heard another youth call out about the same possible overdose. The county team member said it didn’t appear any DOC staff responded to the incident.
Other observers have reported slow responses from staff at the youth prison. In March, a woman who was visiting her granddaughter there described witnessing staff wait at least five minutes before assisting a girl who could be heard gagging and choking as she apparently tried to commit suicide.
In the letter, White also said one mother reported her child did not receive medical attention until a day after his injury and staff members told her they didn’t have enough personnel to help the youth before then. The woman worried about reporting the concern because of possible staff retaliation against her child.
“As you can see, we have reason to be concerned,” White wrote.
The ongoing federal and state investigation has focused on allegations of abuse, neglect, sexual assault and excessive use of force. The investigation was revealed publicly after an early December law enforcement raid of the prison in Irma in Lincoln County.
About a month after the raid, White described conditions at the youth prison as “inhumane,” and county officials are seeking to remove local youths from the facility.
Progress has been slow because of a lack of capacity in the county to treat juvenile offenders, White told county officials in March. At the time, she said she was pushing the county Department of Health and Human Services to speed up its multiyear timetable for adding capacity in detention facilities and communitybased services.