   
 
September 8, 2005
Reorganized system in DOC to improve
management
of female inmates
Effort is a part of agency’s efforts to
strengthen gender-specific programming
(MADISON)--Wisconsin Department of
Corrections (DOC) Secretary Matt Frank today announced the reorganization
of female correctional facilities under a single operational structure
designed to improve correctional supervision and programming for female
offenders.
“The reorganization of our female
facilities is another step towards improving the Department’s efforts to
hold female offenders accountable while more effectively preparing them
for release to the community after they complete their prison term,”
Secretary Frank said. “It will strengthen the Department’s approach to
gender-specific health care, mental health treatment, alcohol and drug
treatment and educational and vocational programming for women, as well as
enhance our ability to form community-based partnerships and address
issues relating to parenting and family connections.”
As part of the reorganization, the
management of the John Burke Correctional Center (JBCC) in Waupun, the
Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center (REECC) in Union Grove and the
Milwaukee Women’s Correctional Center (MWCC) merged with the management of
the Taycheedah Correctional Institution (TCI) in Fond du Lac, the DOC’s
largest facility for female offenders and the Department’s only
maximum/medium-security female institution. Secretary Frank said TCI
Warden Ana Boatwright will oversee the reorganized female system.
The reorganization is part of an ongoing
effort to improve the Department’s corrections programs for women. In
December 2004, the Department moved the intake and assessment process for
women entering the prison system to Taycheedah from Dodge Correctional
Institution, where it had previously been joined with the intake process
for male prisoners. In the state budget recently passed, the Legislature
approved Governor Doyle’s proposal to provide additional alcohol and drug
treatment for women at Taycheedah.
As a partner in implementing Governor Jim
Doyle’s KidsFirst Agenda, DOC has been working with other agencies,
including the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) and the
Department of Workforce Development (DWD), to develop innovative programs
for female offenders and break the cycle of incarceration. One such
program is the Female Reentry Pilot Program, which provides enhanced
reach-in services to women being released from minimum-security
facilities. The program is the result of collaboration between DOC, DHFS
and DWD to provide treatment for substance abuse, find suitable employment
and housing, and safely reunite female offenders with their children when
it is in the best interest of the child.
“Many women in the custody of DOC are
parents who will eventually return to their children and their
communities,” Secretary Frank said. “It is important that we not only
hold these women accountable for their actions, but also do everything
that we can to ensure that they are successful when they are released back
to their communities. This effort will promote stronger families and
communities, and also reduce the number of women who end up returning to
jail or prison at taxpayers’ expense.”
Secretary Frank also announced that Ann M.
Krueger became new Superintendent of REECC effective September 4, 2005.
Kreuger previously had been Program Supervisor at Dodge Correctional
Institution and has served in a variety of positions within the DOC. She
replaces Larry Mahoney, who is now Assistant Chief in the Division of
Community Corrections region serving Milwaukee County.
The facilities reorganization went into
effect on August 21, 2005. The female Challenge Incarceration Program
(boot camp) at St. Croix Correctional Center (SCCC) will remain under the
Wisconsin Correctional Center System (WCCS). In addition, Southern Oaks
Girls School (SOGS) in Union Grove will remain under the Division of
Juvenile Corrections.
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