State leaders led by Gov. Tony Evers Wednesday celebrated the opening of the Southeast Regional Care Center for Youth in Milwaukee.
Evers, who was joined by Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy, said the new, 32-bed facility marks a milestone in his administration’s efforts to close the substandard Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake facilities.
The first youth will arrive at the facility, located at 7930 W. Clinton Ave. on Milwaukee’s northwest side, next month.
“This new facility marks a historic milestone for our state and is the beginning of what I hope is a real, meaningful transformation of not only juvenile corrections in our state but of corrections in Wisconsin,” Evers said in a press release.
“Not only will this new facility allow us to safely move our kids closer to their homes, their families, and their support systems, but it will give kids and families hope for a brighter future.”
The opening of the SERC is the first in a series of steps in which the Department of Corrections will transfer all youth in the agency’s custody to new facilities and convert the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake facilities to adult male institutions.
Another facility, the South Central Regional Care Center for Youth, is now under construction in Dane County.
Plans call for Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake to close to youth in spring 2029.
The institutions were scheduled for closing after reports of safety violations, harsh treatment of youth and the death of a security guard. The conditions led to lawsuits and a court mandated compliance process.
In 2017, the state Legislature passed Act 185 to close both facilities and replace them with smaller, modern youth correctional facilities.
