Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center Renovation and Expansion

State of Wisconsin, Department of Health Services

The Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center (MJTC) is a secure treatment facility located on the Mendota Mental Health Institute campus offering comprehensive services to youth and teens who need intensive behavioral and mental health treatment beyond the traditional sanctions-based approach of youth corrections. The MJTC’s unique, nationally recognized approach provides care, encouragement, treatment, and education, which with the gradual development of trust, brings about more acceptable choices and personal esteem and autonomy. The existing facility was not optimized to support this care model, so the project was an invaluable opportunity to purpose-build and expand services to include girls.

Patients are placed on one of nine custom-designed units based on their security needs and responsiveness to the treatment program, easing their path back into society– as patients progress, they’re rewarded by moving to units with increasing privileges. A wide array of state-of-the-art programs and service spaces allow more very high-risk youth to engage in MJTC’s trauma-informed, treatment-based programs. With a focus on hope and healing, the interior incorporates evidence-based design practices as well as aesthetics of joy to promote natural light, positive distractions, social support, and access to nature. The space incorporates pops of color and therapeutic wall graphics, while carefully avoiding colors with gang associations or other behavioral triggers.

Project partners: Findorff, Mead & Hunt, OTIE, Saiki Design, Pineapple