Milwaukee welcomed a historic milestone in state justice reform as state leaders gathered to celebrate the opening of the Southeast Regional Care Center for Youth. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, joined by Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy and local community partners, toured the newly established facility as staff finalize preparations to welcome the first youth residents next month. The regional youth facility represents a central component of the administration’s long-standing strategy to overhaul juvenile corrections and permanently shutter the troubled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools in Irma, Wisconsin.
The newly unveiled care center is the first facility in Wisconsin, designed specifically to house youth closer to their families, homes, and community support networks in a secure and rehabilitative environment. Officials emphasize that the project marks the beginning of a broader, much-needed modernization of the state’s correctional system, shifting away from outdated infrastructure and toward evidence-based rehabilitation models.
Transforming Juvenile Corrections and Closing Lincoln Hills
The push to close the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools has spanned years, following a turbulent history that intensified after a 2015 law enforcement raid under the administration of former Gov. Scott Walker. State and federal investigations subsequently revealed severe issues at the Irma campus, including excessive use of force, prolonged isolation, and documented physical and sexual abuse. The ensuing legal fallout cost the state more than $25 million in settlements and legal fees and triggered a stringent federal consent decree requiring 50 distinct institutional reforms.
While the state struggled for years to meet those federal benchmarks, state officials confirmed that the Department of Corrections reached compliance with all 50 mandated reforms by October 2, allowing the federal court to officially terminate the consent decree in January. With those legal hurdles addressed, the administration is pressing forward with its timeline to transfer all youth out of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, targeting spring 2029 for the permanent closure of the youth facilities and the subsequent conversion of the 500-bed campus into an adult male correctional institution.
Design and Programming Focused on Healing
Built to accommodate 32 boys in Department of Corrections custody, the Southeast Regional Care Center for Youth was designed around adolescent development principles rather than traditional incarceration. The campus features an on-site school, a gymnasium, indoor and outdoor recreational spaces, a comprehensive health services unit providing dental and vision care, a psychological services unit, a chapel, a music studio, and dedicated workshops for welding and woodworking.
Looking around SERC, you see a school and not a prison,
DOC Secretary Hoy said during the opening tour. There’s no barbed wire.
No towers.
There are big windows, color, space.
Funding for the Milwaukee County facility and broader juvenile infrastructure expansion has evolved through successive legislative and executive budgets. In April 2022, Gov. Evers signed Senate Bill 520, authorizing up to $41.7 million in bonding for the Milwaukee County project. Subsequent state budgets expanded that investment, including the 2023-25 biennial budget which raised funding for the center to $78.4 million.
Broader Realignment and Remaining Regional Needs
To fully execute the closure of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, the state requires additional Type 1 juvenile facilities to be operational. Alongside the Milwaukee project, the bipartisan 2025-27 biennial budget allocated $130.7 million for the construction of the South Central Regional Care Center for Youth in Oregon, near the Oakhill Correctional Institution, alongside an expansion of the Grow Academy in Dane County. Construction on the Dane County project began last month, with plans to house 32 boys and eight girls.
Despite these capital investments, gaps remain in the statewide realignment plan. Funding has not yet been secured for a third envisioned facility to serve youth in Northeastern Wisconsin, and the Legislature provided only $1.5 million of the $3.1 million requested to expand the Grow Academy’s capacity from six to 16 boys. Gov. Evers’ broader corrections platform also proposes phasing out century-old facilities, including closing the Green Bay Correctional Institution by 2029 and transforming the Waupun Correctional Institution into a modern vocational village.
As staff at the Southeast Regional Care Center prepare to welcome their first residents next month, the Department of Corrections continues preparations for the subsequent facility launches required to meet the 2029 timeline for shutting down the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake campus.
