The Brief
- Wisconsin will open the $65 million, 32-bed Southeast Regional Care Center in Milwaukee next month to house local youth offenders.
- The facility is part of the state’s “Closer to Home” plan under Act 185 to close and replace the troubled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake campuses.
- Designed to reduce recidivism, the center emphasizes therapy, education, vocational training, and community connection rather than traditional confinement.
MILWAUKEE – The state’s newest youth correctional center on the city’s northwest side will open in November, as a part of a plan to replace the troubled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake facilities in northern Wisconsin.
Southeast Regional Care Center
What To Know:
The Southeast Regional Care Center (SRCC), located in an industrial area on Clinton Avenue, near 76th and Good Hope, will eventually house 32 boys from southeastern Wisconsin.
“What I’ve learned is that kids want to do well, they just don’t have the skills to do well,” said Kashunda Brown, a DOC Juvenile Youth Counselor at the SRCC.
Brown has worked as a DOC counselor for incarcerated youths for four years in Dane County, at Grow Academy. The new youth prison gave her an opportunity to move back to the city she grew up in and work with youth, close to home.
“Hey, you’re emotional today. What can we do? You’re upset. What are we going to do?” said Brown, as she detailed how counselors work with youth, on a daily basis. “Are we going to go out and do some hoops, are we going to talk about the pros and cons? How are we going to figure this out, in real time?”
“Closer to home” model
Big picture view:…