Madison, WI – Earlier this week, I attended the State Assembly Committee on Corrections public hearing. The invited speakers provided testimony from current and former correctional staff, family members of prisoners who have passed away while incarcerated, and a former inmate with complaints about the treatment he received within Waupun. The concerns raised during the meeting covered various issues related to the Department of Corrections (DOC). This meeting was more centered around corrections facilities, with some emphasis on Waupun. There are a lot of different angles to these issues, so I am breaking this down into separate sections.
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Complaints from Inmates/Former Inmates
I take the claims of abuse in these facilities seriously. The penalty is being in the prison; the prisons themselves should still have a level of care that is just, humane, and supportive of healthy, sound release back into society.
There seems to be a problem with inmates manipulating the system to get the treatment they desire because the resources don’t meet the demand of the prison population. I have heard and believe that inmates are committing self-mutilation to get streamlined to counseling staff support. This is unacceptable. One of the things we need to address is how many counselors are available. Establishing a minimum number of inmates per counselor may be worthy of a conversation. It’s important to note that while many inmates suffer from some level of mental health issues, we need to acknowledge from the county and state level that our prisons are not mental health facilities. There needs to be separation from the inmates struggling with severe mental instability versus the inmates who benefit from regular counseling and that gap is vast.
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A Third Mental Health Facility in Wisconsin
We only have two mental health facilities in our great state. It is not enough. I am asking Governor Evers, Joint Finance Committee, and The Legislature to consider Polk County’s request to build a mental health facility in Northern Wisconsin. One of the major problems we face is having our DOC Officers care for inmates that should be in in-patient care in a psychiatric facility that can administer care, medication, and counseling on a more frequent basis than our DOC officials can or should be responsible for doing.
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Dispersal of Medications
DOC officers oversee meals, check-calls, safety, medication, security, and a plethora of other responsibilities. With all these tasks jumbled into one role there seems to be a lack of consistency in medication scheduling. One of my top suggestions is to separate the responsibilities of DOC officers so that one employee or one specific department is responsible for dolling out medications. There is also a need for accurate reporting of any changes or inconsistencies between the staff giving medications, refusals, and accurate records of KOP (keep-on-person) medications.
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Abuse of DOC Officers
Staffing shortages and reduction in qualifications of DOC officers has led to an uprising of inmate attacks and insubordination. The raises that were given to DOC this year are increasing interest in the field, but still takes time. Being part of the DOC family is one of the most dangerous jobs in this country, and our DOC officers deserve the best pay, benefits, and support that the state can offer. If we pay DOC accordingly, the staffing shortages will slowly dissipate as we are seeing now with new recruitment numbers increasing.
While we need to increase recruitment in the DOC, we absolutely cannot be diminishing requirements. The requirements of a DOC officer need to be strict, and we need strong-willed and headstrong people in these positions. It’s of utmost importance that we do not repeal any necessary training requirements to fill positions or fill any diversity hire quota.
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I am keenly aware that a lot of these problems have arisen because of staffing shortages and a heavily populated prison system. Much of what we are talking about is already protocol, but there are still existing problems that can be helped through smart legislation and cooperation from Governor Evers.
There will be more Committee on Corrections meetings coming up. I anticipate the next will be held in Merrill, WI. We will pinpoint more issues at that meeting having to do with Lincoln Hills and the devastating passing of Youth Counselor Cory Proulx.
Thank you all for your attention to these incredibly important issues within Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
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