Juvenile home
worries Kauai
neighbors

But keeping young offenders
on the isle may derail future
criminal careers, the state's
Youth Services chief says

By Joan Conrow
Special to the Star-Bulletin

The state plans to launch a pilot program on Kauai aimed at keeping young offenders on their home island have run into opposition from residents who fear the kids may bring crime into their rural neighborhood.

Some folks say they are worried the youthful lawbreakers may escape from the facility and commit violent crimes in the area or have an opportunity to "case-out" nearby homes for future break-ins.

But Bert Matsuoka, executive director of the state Office of Youth Services, said neighbors of the group home are overreacting. "There is hysteria in this thing and it surprises me," he said. "These are Kauai kids anyway. They're already living there."

The facility, which could house five to eight boys under the age of 18, is planned for an existing home on Waipouli Road, which is in an agricultural subdivision in the hills behind Kapaa. It is to be run by the John Howard Association of Hawaii, a nonprofit organization that contracts with the state to provide various human services.

The group home was authorized by the state Legislature, which allocated $500,000 for the two-year pilot program. Matsuoka said the goal of the program is to keep young lawbreakers on their home island, where they can draw upon the support of their families and social workers.

He said the state also wants to avoid sending kids convicted of minor crimes to the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility on Oahu, which houses more serious and hardened offenders.

"You've got real little naive kids on Kauai, and if you send them to Oahu, it's like the university of crime for them," Matsuoka said.

One Waipouli Road resident, who asked not to be identified, said that the "whole neighborhood is up in arms because they snuck in here and gave us no notice. We don't want that element up here casing out our places."

Matsuoka, however, said no sneaking was done. "Admittedly, John Howard probably could've done a better job of notifying the community. But it's expected you're not going to please everybody with this kind of thing."

Mira Hall of John Howard said, "It's impossible to sneak in, and why would we? We had already met with the mayor and the police department."

Matsuoka said it was John Howard's decision to put the home on Waipouli Road. Although the state outlined certain criteria for the program, it is up to the contractor to choose a site and create the program, he said. John Howard was the only bidder for the state grant.

Some residents, however, questioned how the home could be allowed without the consent of neighbors. County planner Rick Tsuchiya said no building permit was needed because it is an existing home, but the county is investigating the proposed use to see if any permits are needed.

Other residents said the group home should be placed in an isolated area with no other homes around.

But Hall said the Waipouli Road site was chosen specifically because it is rural and allows space for outdoor activities, such as gardening. "Coming from Oahu, it certainly seemed remote to us," she said. "There may be a better place. It certainly isn't like we're going to stay there forever."

Hall said she does not believe any county permits are needed, and the home could open once it gets its state license. She was unsure when that might be.

The juveniles who would be candidates for the home have committed only minor offenses, like shoplifting, or are chronic truants and runaways, Matsuoka said. "It's the kind of irritating stuff the court has a hard time with. What they've done isn't deemed serious enough to be sent to the youth facility on Oahu, but they need more structure and supervision than being on probation."

The home would be "staff secure," he said, meaning it would supervised around the clock by residential staff, and no state corrections officers or armed guards will be employed. The facility will be fenced, he said, but that's as much to keep people out as to keep the youth in.

"We're trying to do something for the Kauai kids," Matsuoka said. "We want to test the philosophy on this. If it works, we could do it on the other islands.

"It's really a lot more efficient and effective to keep kids around their families and near their probation officers."