Advocacy Groups Respond to new Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake Monitor Report

Madison, WI (October 2, 2025) – Today, the court-appointed monitor overseeing Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake submitted the first ever report that finds “substantial compliance” on all measures. The monitor’s appointment resulted from a class action lawsuit that ACLU of Wisconsin, Juvenile Law Center and Quarles & Brady LLP filed over eight years ago due to the conditions children faced at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake.

The report, compiled by court-appointed monitor Teresa Abreu, states:

“This marks the first time the Monitor finds the Defendants in substantial compliance with all provisions of the Consent Decree. Leadership and staff have demonstrated a sustained commitment to improving the conditions and daily experiences of youth and employees. Over the years, Defendants have faced significant challenges, yet they have successfully navigated them while achieving meaningful reforms. These include eliminating OC Spray, drastically reducing reliance on strip searches, overall confinement, and mechanical restraints, creating, and implementing… a robust data management system to support proactive decision making, revising Administrative Code to align with best practices and the Consent Decree, and making substantial progress toward the development of new facilities.”

While the Defendants’ progress is substantial, it is essential that they avoid complacency and remain committed to sustaining these reforms and pursuing ongoing improvement.”

In 2017, ACLU of Wisconsin, Juvenile Law Center, and Quarles & Brady LLP sued over the shocking conditions at both facilities. After a preliminary court hearing in July 2017, Judge Peterson (W.D. Wi.) noted “Ted Kaczynski has less restricted conditions of confinement than the youths at Lincoln Hills.” In 2018, the parties reached a settlement, which set forth the standards for treatment moving forward and appointed the monitor to oversee compliance.

Juvenile Law Center and ACLU of Wisconsin have regularly been part of the monitor visits and reports, seeing the facilities firsthand over the past eight years.

“In the eight years since we sued, we have seen progress at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, but it’s still painfully apparent that ‘substantial compliance’ does not mean kids there are thriving,” said Kate Burdick, Senior Attorney at Juvenile Law Center. “We won’t declare victory until the state closes these facilities and supports youth through community-based alternatives instead of locking youth up.”

Research shows that incarcerating youth is counter-productive, usually leading to greater likelihood of being arrested and confined again.

“The State has failed to live up to the 2018 bipartisan consensus that Lincoln Hills must be closed,” said ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Tim Muth. “The millions of dollars Wisconsin spends operating a juvenile prison system would be better spent on proven, community-based approaches to juvenile justice.”

In a press release today, Governor Evers indicated now is the time to close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake; ACLU of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center hope the state does so expeditiously.

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan, private organization with over 20,000 members that fights to protect, defend, and expand civil rights and liberties—particularly for communities historically denied their rights—through nonpartisan advocacy, community education, litigation, and organizing to create a more just future.

Juvenile Law Center fights for rights, dignity, equity, and opportunity for youth. We work to reduce the harm of the child welfare and justice systems, limit their reach, and ultimately abolish them so all young people can thrive. Founded in 1975, Juvenile Law Center was the first nonprofit, public interest law firm for children in the country. As an advocacy organization we now use multiple approaches to accomplish our mission: legal advocacy, policy advocacy. youth-led advocacy, and strategic communications. We strive to ensure that laws, policies, and practices affecting youth advance racial and economic equity and are consistent with children's unique developmental characteristics and human dignity. For more information about Juvenile Law Center’s work, visit www.JLC.org.