Steven Potter:
There is a new youth prison being built in Milwaukee in district. It will replace the troubled facilities of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake in north central Wisconsin. Why is this new facility needed?

State Sen. Dora Drake:
It's needed just because our children need to be closer to home, you know.? Talks when there's propositions of having this detention facility in the district — there were a lot of concerns that I heard from folks in the district, and I understand those concerns, some of those concerns where we don't want those issues in our backyard. We haven't seen a lot of investment and economic opportunities on that side of town, which are all true and valid. But I would push back and say that we have children and families that do live in the district that are impacted by this. A detention facility means that no one is coming in or coming out unless you are allowed to. And so the notion that those aren't our problem is the very reason why we need to address it. Our children need to ensure that they're in a place of safety, care and love. Not every child comes from a background or family that has that. So, if they end up in our juvenile correctional system and in the detention center, why not have them closer to home, where they're around family, people that can hold them accountable? The reality is, too, our state is subsidizing different cities across the state to take care of our children from home. And I think that's wrong. Our children should be close to home. They should have the support that they need and have wraparound services that can speak to the issues that they're dealing with.

Steven Potter:
You've mentioned that these youth who are incarcerated who have been convicted of serious crimes should be close to home in Milwaukee. Why do so many of these students who are convicted of these crimes come from Milwaukee?

State Sen. Dora Drake:
I think it's one — I mean, we have the largest population in the city, so it's not necessarily an issue of more crime just happens in Milwaukee, it's a matter when you have more people in the area, that happens. But history has shown that when you divest in programs and services — whether it's businesses that leave the city, whether it's the state, you know, only giving so few dollars back to the city and county to ensure that they can provide those services — those are the results that we see. I mentioned earlier how our state funds Corrections way more than our public schools and education. And so there's an imbalance of what our priorities are when it comes to funding. What we need for our kids, if we're serious about our children not being in Corrections, having the support that they need, then our budget needs to reflect that.