A federal judge ruled Friday that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections must make changes to its inmate prescription system at Taycheedah Correctional Institution and hire licensed practical nurses to hand out drugs there, all within two months.  Reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Chief U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa’s order came in response to an American Civil Liberties Union motion for an injunction forcing the state to make changes.   The action is part of a federal class-action lawsuit the ACLU filed in 2006 on behalf of inmates at the state’s largest women’s prison.   The ACLU contends the state is violating the rights of Taycheedah prisoners by having guards without medical training dispense drugs to inmates, routinely resulting in the wrong medications or wrong dosages being given to inmates.

The state admits there are problems but says it is working to fix them. It argued that it has a plan to hire nursing assistants to hand out drugs and that the ACLU’s timetable was unreasonable.   Randa disagreed, writing that “matters of administrative convenience must ultimately give way when constitutional rights are in jeopardy.”  Randa ordered the state to draw up a plan to hire licensed practical nurses for Taycheedah within a week and have them in place in 60 days. In the issue of computerizing the prescription system, Randa gave the state two months to take “interim steps” to improve drug distribution accuracy …

Department of Corrections spokesman John Dipko said he did not know how many nurses would be hired or how much it would cost … Dipko said agency officials had not determined whether they will appeal the order, but even if they do, they will comply with the order in the meantime.

Larry Dupuis, legal director for the ACLU of Wisconsin, said, “Judge Randa has taken a huge step toward alleviating the needless pain and suffering caused by Taycheedah’s failed medication system.”

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More people are spending time behind bars in Sheboygan County WI, and officials say a multimillion-dollar expansion to the Sheboygan County Detention Center is “inevitable.”  Reported by the Sheboygan Press.

The proposed expansion would cost $22 million and add a third and fourth floor to the facility in Sheboygan’s south-side industrial park, doubling its 290-bed capacity.    “It’s a real jaw-dropping figure, but one that certainly the County Board is going to have to contend with,” County Administrator Adam Payne said Wednesday.   Brian Hoffmann, chairman of the county’s Law Committee, said construction is likely at least two years away, but the overcrowding problem needs to be publicized and plans made … “It’s arriving sooner than we anticipated,” Hoffmann said. “We thought we’d have another four, five years, but that’s apparently not going to happen unless people stop committing crimes right away.”

The number of inmates housed at the detention center has risen 64 percent in the last eight years, from an average of 91 inmates per day in 2002 to 142 inmates per day this year, said Sheriff Mike Helmke. If built as proposed, the larger facility would increase operating costs by $2.7 million to $3.5 million annually, based on 2009 wage and benefit levels, he said.

The detention center, built in 1998, has about 190 secure beds for adult male inmates and 96 dorm-style beds for those with work-release privileges, said Capt. Karol Salata, jail administrator for the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department. The jail attached to the sheriff’s department downtown has room for 40 adult females and 27 juveniles. It is currently well within its capacity.  The detention center, however, has been running at 92 to 93 percent of capacity this year, forcing secure inmates to be housed in the less secure work-release area, Salata said.

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The Lincoln County WI Sheriff’s Department on Saturday held an open house at the recently completed Lincoln County Safety Building. Report from the Wausau Daily Herald.

The $8.6 million, 30,000-square-foot addition has room for 132 inmates in the main “pod” cell blocks.  Remodeling of the Huber Center for work release inmates is scheduled to be completed this summer, giving the jail a total capacity of 182 inmates.   Lt. Nate Walrath, jail administrator, said the average daily population is about 80 inmates, and the previous facility has a capacity of 53 inmates. The new facility will reduce costs of housing and transporting inmates to other counties, Walrath said …

Video conferencing used to communicate with visitors and other improvements in technology will reduce the frequency of inmates moving about in the jail, making it a safer environment for corrections officers, said Sgt. Dave Manninen.   The jail pod is set up in a circle surrounding a control station from which an officer can electronically monitor all functions of the cell blocks, which range from minimum- to maximum-security.   The lowest-risk inmates are housed in a dormitory with several bunk beds and board games set up on stainless steel benches. The highest-risk inmates will be held in solitary confinement in much smaller rooms.

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The future of Eau Claire County WI’s new jail may remain downtown. The committee formed to make a recommendation to the county board about the site and size of a new jail has decided to expand the current facility at its downtown location.

They also voted on a design that is similar to the one originally proposed last year.  A major difference is that this design brings the new jail closer to the current building.  The committee will also recommend that the county should not acquire any new property to fit this plan.   Many committee members who were on the fence about the location of the new jail cited the importance of keeping the jail, the courts and law enforcement agencies together; something that none of them believed there would be the political support or funding to accomplish in the near future.   It is a decision the jail’s administrator believes is the right choice.  Capt. Dan Bresina said after the meeting, “I’m glad the process took place, I’m glad that the original study was looked at and they came to the conclusion to stay downtown.”

Several community members expressed their disappointment in this decision.  They will have more chances to make their opinions known; the county board will have the final say on the plan.

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The head of Wisconsin’s prison system says sick inmates who are not able to commit new crimes should be freed early, according to the New Richmond News.

Rick Raemisch asked lawmakers Thursday to allow prisoners with a year or less remaining in their sentences to be let go, if medical workers agree they’re unable to offend again. He says many of them often die within a year.  Raemisch appeared before the Joint Finance Committee to defend Gov. Jim Doyle’s plan to release non-violent felons early for good behavior.  Raemisch says more of them would behave if they were given an incentive which they don’t have now.

As for the sick inmates, Raemisch said taxpayers shelled out $50,000 or more last year to treat [each of] 90 prisoners.

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The Wisconsin Department of Corrections is seeking $35.5 million in the next state budget for a 208-cell expansion of the Jackson County Correctional Institution near Black River Falls.  Story from the Leader-Telegram.

The Jackson County Correctional Institution request would provide 400 more beds, bring the prison’s inmate population to nearly 1,400 and complete the institution’s planned capacity as originally designed. The prison opened in 1996 with a projected capacity of 700 inmates. A 150-bed dormitory was added a year later. The prison has a current operating capacity of 837 inmates and population of about 900. In addition to the current request for two 104-cell medium security housing units, one wing of the Oxbow housing unit would be converted to isolation cells, of which the prison has too few, according to American Correctional Association guidelines.

The $35.5 million request also would add 2,500 square feet for four academic classrooms and two vocational classrooms. The increased inmate population requires a 7,000-square-foot expansion of the food service warehouse and 6,000 square feet added to the maintenance building.  A larger maintenance facility would give inmates more opportunities for maintenance work, which could increase their employment options once released, according to the department.

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With the cost of housing for each of the state’s 23,000 prison inmates at $29,000 per year, the Wisconsin DOC is looking for ways to get smart on crime. As reported by the Superior Telegram.

Department of Corrections Secretary Rick Raemisch was in Superior on Monday to meet with local law enforcement to highlight some of the changes proposed as the state faces a $5.7 billion budget shortfall. Among the changes is a new evaluation system that could keep low-risk, nonviolent offenders out of state prisons and low-risk offenders who’ve committed misdemeanor crimes off the state’s probation system … “There always will be a need for prisons to house violent criminals who pose a threat to public safety, but … we need to invest in strategies beyond prison expansion to curtail corrections spending and reduce recidivism,” Raemisch said …

The goal of the new strategy is to protect public safety by keeping violent offenders in prison, but providing opportunities for nonviolent offenders to complete treatment so they can succeed and become productive citizens when they return to their communities, Raemisch said. Under the proposed changes, offenders would be evaluated to determine the level of risk they pose to the community and provide services to help low-risk offenders.  The state would expand services in the Earned Release Program to provide services needed for successful reintegration in the community. Currently, drug and alcohol treatment are provided, but an offender may need education and job skills, Raemisch said. He said the goal is to provide what the offender needs …

One of the things county officials hope to see come from this is an opportunity to reintegrate prison inmates in the community by using the county jails to house state prisoners and allow them a chance, under Huber work release, to get jobs to ensure a successful transition from incarceration to release in the community.  “I’d like to work with the sheriff’s on a re-entry program … and get them acclimated in the community,” Raemisch said.

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Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle’s new budget lays out millions of dollars to help female prisoners get better mental health care and dodge a potentially costly lawsuit over their care, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

The U.S. Justice Department in 2006 declared the lack of mental health care at Taycheedah Correctional Institution, the state’s largest women’s prison in Fond du Lac, violated inmates’ constitutional rights. The state agreed this past September to make improvements or face a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit. “These investments will help us improve the continuity of care for women who have mental illnesses in our prison system,” Corrections Department spokesman John Dipko said in a statement.  Part of the state’s plan calls for building a 45-bed women’s-only wing at the Wisconsin Resource Center, a mental health facility for male inmates in Winnebago. The $11 million project was approved as part of the state’s 2007-2009 capital budget. It’s set to open in 2011.

Doyle’s spending plan sets out $4.6 million in taxpayer dollars for the Department of Health and Human Services to hire 113 workers at the facility in 2011. The governor’s budget also devotes another $4.2 million in taxpayer dollars to hire 15 guards for the female-only wing and another 40 mental health workers at Taycheedah.  The spending proposals come despite the state’s massive $5.7 billion deficit

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Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle’s 2009-’11 budget proposal released Tuesday includes a program that would result in the premature release of inmates from the state’s prisons.  The Criminal Justice Reform Initiative, aimed at reducing the budget of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, would also include the elimination of misdemeanor probation for certain nonviolent offenders.

Department of Corrections spokesperson John Dipko said specific figures are unknown at this stage, but “the governor’s budget ensures the Department of Corrections will continue to fulfill its mission of keeping Wisconsin safe, but in a more efficient and effective way.”

“I haven’t seen the details, but the state is in a budget crisis, and if we can save a few dollars by monitoring nonviolent criminals in a cheaper way, we might have to do that,” state Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said. State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, said he supports the plan and believes laws regarding prison terms are too harsh. He said he would like to see reduction of sentences and an easier parole process for individuals who have proven they have been rehabilitated. “It’s not beneficial to society for people who have been rehabilitated to remain incarcerated,” he said.

According to state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, Wisconsin incarcerates about twice as many people as Minnesota does, despite the fact that the states are similar in population and socioeconomic status.  Black said it costs the state up to $40,000 per year to incarcerate one prisoner.  “If we can safely help [prisoners] return to a productive life in society, we will be making a big dent in the state budget deficit,” he said.

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A new 200-bed jail would provide a long-term solution to housing Trempealeau County WI’s booming inmate population, according to members of a county jail study committee.

A proposed facility would cost between $17.7 million and $18.9 million, which would be funded by increased county taxes, a committee member said. The structure would also house the county sheriff’s department, and officials propose building it on county-owned land near the Trempealeau County Health Care Center in Whitehall, Wis. The jail would be large enough to handle the growing number of county inmates through 2030, committee members said …

The current inmate population hovers at about 60 people, but the county jail, built in 1982, can hold only 34 inmates, Sheriff Richard Anderson said. Trempealeau County has a contract with Chippewa County to house 25 inmates, and any additional inmates are housed in other jails with available space.   Housing inmates at out-of-county facilities costs more than $500,000 annually, Paul Halderson, jail study committee chairman and Trempealeau County commissioner, said. Spending so much money each year while not addressing the county’s problem of having inadequate jail space simply doesn’t make sense, he said …

The 200-bed facility would be divided into a 100-bed maximum security section, while the other 100 beds would be in a “dorm-type setting” for lower security inmates, Halderson said. A pod-style design will allow a similar number of jail employees to monitor the new jail as the current structure, he noted.

There is a much more detail on the new jail in the article from the Winona Daily News.

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