FITCHBURG, Wis. (WMTV) – A new youth correctional facility will soon be built on the border of Oregon and Fitchburg, with construction expected to start next September.
The facility will house 32 boys and eight girls, offering food, education, counseling and job training. There will also be a focus on recreational activities such as gardening.
The building is designed to look more like a school than a prison, according to Fitchburg Alder Gabriella Gerhardt. It will be located across from the Grow Academy in Oregon, another correctional facility designed to transition kids back into the community.
“It being in Fitchburg keeps it close to families in Dane county so the juveniles that would be here are likely people that live nearby when they’re at home,” Gerhardt said.
The project is part of Governor Tony Evers’ plan to overhaul Wisconsin’s prison system. The goal is to move kids out of the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake detention centers, both of which have storied histories of issues with safety and programming…