- In our first look tonight, Governor Scott Walker has
announced plans to close Wisconsin's current juvenile
correctional facilities and open regional facilities instead.
Late this week, the governor said he would close
Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, establish five regional juvenile
facilities across Wisconsin, make the juvenile prison an
adult medium security institution and expand treatment
services at Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center.
The cost of building the new facilities would be roughly $80
million according to the governor's office.
This plan has been met with praise and criticism.
Milwaukee's State Senator Democrat Lena Taylor weighs in
now with her reaction.
Thanks very much for being here. - Thank you for having me.
- What is your response to the governor's call to close Lincoln
Hills and Copper Lake?
- I mean, very candidly, it's a day late and a dollar short.
The governor had an opportunity to do something in his budget
that shows that he wanted to prioritize stopping inhumane
treatment of young people.
He did not.
He did not even bring us up to the minimum standards of what we needed to do.
And a day-- you know, a day late because the governor has
known since at least 2012, I believe it was that the judge
gave a letter to the governor telling him that there was a
problem in the juvenile facilities.
So, you know, am I glad that the governor realizes that he has
messed up and his administration has badly managed the criminal
justice system, especially for juveniles?
I am.
- Now, Milwaukee Democratic State Representative Evan Goyke
is commending this move, calling it exciting progress in
reforming Wisconsin's correction system,
and during a recent presentation introduced a bill which he says
first produced many of the changes moving forward now.
So certainly some people, including Democrats,
are applauding this move.
What about that?
- I think it really is not some-thing that we should applaud.
First of all, we're going to do something.
Why are we putting off today -- putting it off to tomorrow what
we can do today?
And so I don't find it exciting when we're not addressing the
issue that needs to be done right away,
which is to give Milwaukee County authority in order to be
able to have an institution that they can have there in Milwaukee County.
And why must it be somewhere else other than Milwaukee County
for the youth to be cared for?
So if we were dealing with the issue immediately,
I could give praise, Frederica.
But that's not what we're doing.
We're putting it off until 2019
and we're doing nothing right now.
- Now, I understand that the governor has said that he is
open to moving that date up.
So that's something, perhaps, of some compromise
that you can look to.
- That is possible, as well as the governor said he may close
Lincoln Hills if you look at his press release completely.
He does not say I shall.
And then, even more importantly,
I think we need to do something immediately.
Right now there are children there and they're being harmed.
And the conditions are such that individuals who are working,
who are correctional officers, are not well-trained.
They're working hours that are unreasonable.
It's an unsafe environment for both workers
and, I would argue, for individuals there.
- But if you were to immediately close
these juvenile institutions, what would your answer--
Where would they go immediately?
- So the first thing I'm saying is not even necessarily a
shutdown today immediately, but I'm saying you have to start
with giving the county that most of the juveniles come from to at
least have authority to be able to build the kind of facility
that they need to house their young people.
They've asked for it.
Why can County Executive Abele's request to be able to do that
not be honored?
- Getting into that piece a little bit,
we have not very much time left unfortunately but these five
regional juvenile institutions that are proposed in this plan.
- Yes. Those five.
Milwaukee could be one, but we still would have to have the
authority to do that, of which the county executive
has asked for since at least 2016
and has not gotten a response from the governor.
I put it in a motion in the budget and it was not done.
I do like the concept.
This is the same thing that Representative Tamara Grigsby
and I asked for years ago during the Finance Committee when we
first said also that we should consider putting the juvenile
facility back in DHS or in DCF.
So I believe that there are some things the governor could do
right away to begin to address the issue.
I don't believe putting it off to 2019
is something he should be applauded for.
I think he could give Milwaukee County authority and most
importantly he could do training and staffing to be able to help.
- All right. We need to leave it there.
Senator Lena Taylor, thanks very much for joining us on this.
- Thank you for having me.