W350 S1401 Waterville Road, Dousman, WI 53118
For more information about senior living options: (866) 208-4318
Overall Review of Lad Lake
Pros
The staff is professional and caring, invested in helping youth obtain and practice the necessary skills for transitioning toward successful adulthood.- The campus is beautiful and offers many opportunities for youth.
- The facility is a great place for people to work with youth and teach them life skills.
Cons
This place is a joke.- There is no accountability and the staff don’t care for the kids.
- They are actually better off in jail.
- Two little girls are missing because of this place.
- A teen left without notification for two days, and the police were not called.
- A niece walked out and her parents weren’t notified for 48 hours; she is still missing after five days.
- The safety of the children at this place is clearly not a concern to these people.
- The number of missing kids in Milwaukee is scary.
Review
Lad Lake in Dousman is best suited for families seeking a structured, youth-focused residential program that emphasizes practical life skills and transition readiness for adolescents who need targeted behavioral support. The campus environment and program design appeal to those who want professional staff actively invested in helping youths practice real-world skills and seize opportunities for growth. This is not a fit for families prioritizing ironclad safety, airtight accountability, or instantaneous, flawless communication. When a youth needs a clearly mapped path to independence, and when a campus setting with hands-on skill-building can be paired with consistent coaching, Lad Lake can be a meaningful option.
But those evaluating Lad Lake should explicitly consider safety and accountability as nonnegotiables. Several reviews raise red flags about oversight, response times, and discipline, including assertions that belongings were stolen and accountability was lacking. More troubling are repeated claims of youths going missing and signals that staff communication and parental contact were not handled promptly. For families whose peace of mind hinges on rapid, reliable incident management and transparent reporting, these reports point to fundamental gaps that cannot be dismissed as isolated incidents.
The festival of pros, professional, caring staff; a beautiful campus; and abundant opportunities to learn life skills, is real and meaningful. When staff are described as invested in helping youth obtain and practice skills needed for adulthood, that positive dynamic can translate into gains in behavior, independence, and confidence. The on-site ecosystem that supports skill-building and the sense of a hopeful trajectory can offset some everyday challenges inherent in any youth program. Yet these benefits are undermined if safety lapses and accountability concerns persist, because trust is the currency that makes a program work for young people in transition.
Where the strongest concerns converge, the weight of missing-teen reports and delayed parental notification cannot be ignored. Accounts of youths leaving without notification for days, calls to authorities that should have been made sooner, and two missing girls highlighted by reviewers all point to potential safety risks that extend beyond routine program friction. Even when the staff is praised in other threads for dedication and the program’s opportunities, these severe safety risk signals need immediate, credible remediation. In the balance, the pros cannot fully compensate for the impact of these safety and communication issues on a family’s confidence.
For families pressing forward, the practical next steps matter. Seek a candid, written incident-management policy that covers missing-child procedures, notification timelines, and who oversees escalation. Request current staff-to-youth ratios, training standards, and a clear accountability structure with defined consequences for lapses. Visit in person, speak with current residents and their families, and press for a detailed tour of security, supervision, and daily routines. If Lad Lake can demonstrate rigorous, verifiable reforms and consistent, timely communication, the strengths of the program, its investment in life skills and the compelling campus environment, can translate into meaningful progress for a teen in transition. Until those safeguards are demonstrably robust, families should weighs alternatives with stronger safety records and clearer, cleaner lines of accountability.
6 resident community capacity
Assisted Living
Cable or satellite TV
Dining room
Fully furnished
Garden
Housekeeping services
Move-in coordination
Outdoor space
Telephone
Wi-Fi/high-speed internet available
24-hour supervision
Activities of daily living assistance
Assistance with bathing
Assistance with dressing
Assistance with transfers
Diabetes diet
Meal preparation and service
Medication management
Special dietary restrictions
Transportation arrangement (medical)
Transportation to doctors appointments
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