MADISON - Both the ACLU of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center are deeply disappointed to hear that some Wisconsin state legislators are considering postponing the closing of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, a pair of state-operated youth detention facilities slated to be shut down next year. The organizations issued the following statement:
“Rather than scrambling to come up with funding for another expensive youth prison, our elected officials should turn their attention toward investing in community-based alternatives to incarceration," said Karyn Rotker, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Wisconsin.
“The closing of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake presents the possibility for a paradigm shift in the way Wisconsin approaches youth crime,” added Karen Lindell, a Senior Attorney for Juvenile Law Center. “We must abandon the failed and inhumane practice of imprisoning children and instead embrace a model of rehabilitation that supports young people and keeps them in their schools, communities and families.”