Girl inmates back home
in Hawaii

Seven offenders were sent to a Utah
facility to ease crowding

Seven girls from the state's youth prison who were sent to Utah in September are back home in the islands, officials said yesterday.

The girls arrived in Hawaii late Thursday, said Sharon Agnew, executive director of the state Office of Youth Services. Five remain in state custody after two were transferred yesterday to transitional programs to prepare them for their release, she said.

They had been sent to Utah in late September for a scheduled two-month stay to ease overcrowding among boys while renovations were being made to housing units at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility in Kailua.

"We really wanted to get them home before Thanksgiving so that they could be with their families," Agnew said.

"We had a 60-day improvement plan. We accomplished that, and we're glad to have the girls home," she added. "This was always a 60-day plan, and we think we've made HYCF a better place."

The renovations are part of the state's effort to reform conditions at the youth prison after a scathing report issued last year by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii alleged young inmates were abused and kept in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.

In August the U.S. Justice Department announced it would conduct its own investigation into the alleged abuses and conditions at the facility.

Lois Perrin, legal director for the ACLU of Hawaii, said she plans to meet with the girls next week.

"We're delighted, and we plan to follow up with the girls to discuss their experiences at the Utah facility," she said.

Renovation work at the Kailua facility included fix- ing locks on all cell doors; repairing broken sprinkler heads; replacing fire extinguishers, shower heads and vents; and improving ventilation in cells by widening windows and replacing glass door windows with stainless-steel mesh, Agnew said.

Renovations also were completed at a housing facility across the street from the youth prison where "short-term" boys -- those sentenced to shorter stays -- are now being held to ease overcrowding in the secure-custody facility, she said.

"The fact that there were so few girls, and that we could send them to Utah, allowed us to do the renovations and to reduce the crowding situation for the boys, which was the primary reason we sent them to Utah," Agnew said.

The five girls still in custody are being housed in the girls 10-cell housing unit in Kailua.

As of Thursday there were 16 boys housed in the 20-cell short-term facility, while 42 boys remained in the 30-cell secure-custody unit, Agnew said.

Since the ACLU's report last August, state officials have worked to reduce the overall population at the youth prison by placing inmates in community-based programs aimed at helping them return to society.

Gov. Linda Lingle has said her administration plans to emphasize similar programs and counseling for young offenders as an alternative to detention.

State officials, including Lingle and Agnew, who visited the girls at the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center said they were impressed with the Utah facility's programs and counseling methods.

"In terms of anger management, the girls came back with some great skills to control their behavior," Agnew said.

Perrin said she is encouraged by the state's plans.