Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr says the state’s juvenile prisons for boys and girls in Irma can’t close for at least four years – and possibly much longer.
Carr says the delay is caused by the Legislature’s failure to provide funding to build new facilities.
He told the Journal Sentinel the lack of money means dozens of juvenile offenders will continue to be held at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls for the foreseeable future.
Lawmakers said they would close the facilities by July of this year, but no plan to accomplish that goal has ever been approved.
Recent reports by a monitor indicate the atmosphere is much-improved at Lincoln Hills after reports of abuse and numerous lawsuits.
