Fixing Lincoln Hills urgent, but don’t rush it

It is important that Wisconsin figure out a new system for housing the state’s most troubled juvenile offenders. But it is better to get it right than to get it done quickly. Governor Scott Walker had proposed shutting the Lincoln Hills school for boys by this spring. That deadline is now wisely being pushed back. Especially since the Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its session as soon as this week. While it is important to fix this problem soon, it is not an issue that should be rushed, as there are many moving parts. Walker’s plan is to close Lincoln Hills, turn it into an adult prison, and send the juvenile inmates now housed there to one of five smaller, regional juvenile facilities to be located across the state. Those facilities would be run by the counties in which they are located. It was likely unrealistic all of that could be accomplished in just a matter of months. Slowing down the process gives an opportunity for more voices to be heard. What has happened at Lincoln Hills is an embarrassment, with an ongoing FBI investigation into allegations of the abuse of inmates by guards. The system needs to be fixed. But the state also needs to make sure it takes the time to get this one right.