Youth Correctional
Facility shifts 4 girls
to make room for boys

In an attempt to alleviate overcrowding at Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, four girls from the facility were transferred Friday to neighbor islands group homes to free up their room for the boys.

The girls' facility will become the housing for lesser-risk boys with terms up to a year, while the youth facility's Maluhia cottage will be renovated for the girls during the next two months.

Two girls are still in the facility, but if the Family Court judges grant permission for them to be transferred, some of the boys will move into their 10 cells, which hold up to 20 people.

"Our numbers are low right now, which gives us the opportunity to move the girls out ... and work toward addressing the overcrowding issue," said Sharon Agnew, executive director of the Office of Youth Services, which oversees the youth correctional facility.

Moving the girls out will allow for the separation of higher-risk boys from those with shorter terms.

Overcrowding has been an ongoing problem for the youth facility, with a capacity of 30 cells for the boys, who usually end up doubling up in cells with mattresses on the floor.

As of yesterday, there were about 54 boys and the two remaining girls in the facility, she said.

However, while the boys' cells are usually packed, the girls' facilities are underutilized, Agnew said.

Juveniles have been transferred to other homes in the past, but only in times where numbers were low, Agnew said.

"It's one step in many that we're taking to improve the facility," Agnew said.

American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii Legal Director Lois Perrin agrees that transferring the girls was a step in the right direction.

"However, it's only putting a Band-Aid on the problem," Perrin said. "The ultimate goal is to reduce the population. They need to make more use of alternate things instead of just moving kids around."

The ACLU submitted a report to Gov. Linda Lingle last August and threatened legal action if the state didn't do anything about the severe overcrowding, alleged assaults, harassment and unduly harsh discipline by the guards.