Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare

Wisconsin cuts back on long-term institutional care for the disabled

It’s part of a national trend. But parents and guardians of patients at Central Wisconsin Center, one of the state’s facilities for the developmentally disabled, are worried that the state’s no-new-admissions policy could endanger people who could benefit from the centers’ services. Now a couple have gone to court to keep their child at the center.

Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety

Waupun prison guards accused of abusing dozens of inmates

Part 1: The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has identified 40 allegations of physical or psychological abuse by correctional officers against inmates in Waupun’s segregation unit since 2011. The allegations, involving 33 inmates, allege extreme mistreatment, including being beaten and stomped on while handcuffed behind their backs.

Posted inEconomy, Government, Health & Welfare

State passes up federal disabilities aid for jobless, despite backlogs

Thousands of people with disabilities must wait for months to access state employment services, although the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation has not requested the full amount of federal funds available to it for the past three years, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has found.