Taycheedah Correctional Institution
Entrance
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| Location |
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (near Taycheedah, Wisconsin) |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Maximum/Medium |
| Capacity | 684 females (operating) |
| Population | 733 females (as of FY 2008) |
| Opened | 1921 |
| Managed by |
Wisconsin Department of Corrections Division of Adult Institutions |
| Warden | Eric Ziegler |
Taycheedah Correctional Institution is a prison in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin near the Town of Taycheedah. Established in 1921, it was known as Wisconsin Home for Women until 1975. The facility houses maximum-security and medium-security adult females, with an average population of 763 as of June 2007.
Before the Wisconsin Industrial Home was opened in 1921, female inmates were held in the Wisconsin State Prison in Waupun (now known as Waupun Correctional Institution). After it opened, women who committed "crimes against morality" were transferred to the Wisconsin Industrial Home, while women who had committed more serious crimes or were repeat offenders remained at Waupun. In 1931, construction began on a new facility, the Wisconsin Prison for Women, adjoining the Wisconsin Industrial Home. All women were transferred to this new facility. In 1945 Wisconsin Industrial Home and Wisconsin Prison for Women were combined and given the name Wisconsin Home for Women. The prison received its current name, Taycheedah Correctional Institution, in 1975 by order of the legislature.
Inmates at the Wisconsin Prison for Women typically did laundry, sewing, gardening, kitchen and farm work. Beginning in 1943, they put their sewing skills to work by making dresses for the Russian War Relief. In 1952, the farm program was discontinued. During the 1980s, inmates worked taking phone calls for the Department of Transportation and the Lottery Board. The year 1997 marked the beginning of the Computer Recycling program, which involved the rebuilding, selling, or donation of used computers. This program is still in existence and is run at six different sites, employing nearly 100 inmates.
In 1995, a new housing unit opened, doubling inmate capacity. Two years later, a barracks unit for 150 inmates was added. By 2002, two more buildings had been opened. The first contained a mental health unit with 64 beds and a segregation unit with 68 beds. The second, a general population facility, and had the largest capacity, with 240 beds. The Taycheedah Correctional Institution became part of the Wisconsin Women’s Correctional System in August 2005, putting Warden Boatwright in control of all female institutions and centers.
Taycheedah provides its inmates with several social services, including anger management training, Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous, and a pre-release program. The pre-release program helps inmates produce résumés, develop interviewing skills, and learn to use community resources before they are released from the institution.
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