Feds say youth
prison in chaos

Staff shortages and poor
treatment of Hawaii inmates
are among the concerns

Inadequate policies and procedures, combined with staffing shortages and deficient training for guards, has led to a "state of chaos" at the state's youth prison, according to a U.S. Justice Department report released yesterday.

How to improve The Justice Department outlined 18 recommendations to address issues at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility. They include: » Protecting inmates from harm from guards and fellow inmates. » Developing an adequate grievance procedure. » Providing proper training for guards and other administrators. » Developing policies to recognize and provide adequate treatment for suicidal inmates. » Providing access to education for youths with disabilities.

The report also says young inmates suffered "unduly harsh and punitive conditions" daily.

"The absence of rules or regulations has permitted a culture to develop where abuse of youth often goes unreported and uninvestigated," acting Assistant Attorney General Bradley Schlozman wrote in the report.

State officials, including Gov. Linda Lingle, were quick to note that the Justice Department's investigation into the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility was completed in October, and the state has since taken steps to address most of the agency's concerns.

"We think HYCF is definitely going in the right direction while recognizing there's still a lot of work to be done," Lingle said yesterday.

An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, which initiated the investigations at the youth prison, said reforms have been "disappointingly slow."

"It has been two years since the ACLU brought the majority of these concerns to the state's attention," said Lois Perrin, legal director for the civil rights group in Hawaii. "From our continued contact with the wards at HYCF, it appears that a number of these issues have not been adequately addressed."

The Justice Department investigation was announced last August, roughly a year after an investigation and report by the ACLU alleged that youths at the Kailua lockup were being held in overcrowded, unsanitary and abusive conditions.

After the initial ACLU report, Lingle immediately removed the facility's top two administrators, and criminal investigations were opened to address the allegations. One guard was convicted last year of raping a female inmate.

Since then the administration's main focus has been on programs to divert youths from prison as part of an effort to reduce the overall population at the facility. As of yesterday there were 51 boys and 12 girls being held at the facility. Two years ago, officials said the population regularly topped 90.

The 29-page report by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division was based on a four-day visit to the facility in October, a review of grievances by inmates, interviews with female inmates who were moved to a Utah facility last year while renovations were being done, and other records.

"Security staff, who have received no training in over five years and have no rules to guide their decisions, routinely use force against youth, confine youth to their cells for days on end, discipline youth without justification or oversight, deny youth access to medical and mental health services, and prevent youth from receiving education," the report said.

"The report identifies certain minimum requirements to come into compliance with the Constitution and certain federal law," Perrin said. "However, the children of Hawaii deserve much more than the mere minimum."

The state has already responded to the Justice Department's report and outlined some steps it has taken to address each of the agency's recommendations. Those steps have included drafting a training plan for guards, adding positions at the youth prison, removing some suicide hazards and requiring more specific incident reports.

Sharon Agnew, executive director of the state Office of Youth Services, said her agency plans to work with the federal government to avoid any court action.

"If workers or employees are not following the system, then we need to take disciplinary action as their employer," Agnew said. "We also are aware that this has been a pattern over many years that we stepped into. The present administration is not willing to let it continue further on down the line, and we have been addressing it for over two years now."