Juvenile prison gets new chief
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Kaleve Tufono-Iosefa was named corrections manager of the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility yesterday, seven months after an investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union resulted in the dismissal of the prison's top two administrators.
She takes the job amid an ongoing criminal investigation by the state Attorney General's office and threats of litigation from the American Civil Liberties Union after a 34-page report issued in August alleged rape, brutality and crowding at the Windward jail for juveniles.
Tufono-Iosefa said she is aware of the issues facing the facility, but declined comment until she had time to see things for herself.
"It is a major task, but that is just part of the journey you make in life," said Tufono-Iosefa, who is the community-building facilitator for the Queen Lili'uokalani Children Center.
Sharon Agnew, executive director for the Office of Youth Services, said Tufono-Iosefa comes to the program as an outsider who has a strong reputation for working well with others and a passion for kids.
"In the long run, I think it is going to be a better place for the children under our care," Agnew said. "I'm optimistic."
Tufono-Iosefa is walking into a tense situation.
Vanessa Chong, executive director of the ACLU in Hawai'i, said none of the demands made in August has been met, and litigation is a strong possibility if significant changes are not made. She said she would send investigators to the prison in the next couple of weeks.
"We have nothing in writing yet confirming the specifics of what has been accomplished. There has been no resolution of all of the issues that we've raised," Chong said. "There are ongoing discussions between our legal team and the administration. We've made very clear what our concerns are about the conditions and practices happening at the facility."
Last August, Mel Ando was reassigned from his job as the top official at the facility, and Glenn Yoshimoto from his corrections specialist position. When the report was released, Gov. Linda Lingle said its "conclusions are too serious to leave the current management in place."
State lawyers later obtained O'ahu grand jury indictments against one guard on charges that include the alleged rape of a girl at the facility and alleged intimidation of a witness by a guard.
The youth prison run by the State Department of Human Services houses 54 boys and 16 girls in facilities separated by Kalaniana'ole Highway in Kailua.
The state-authorized ACLU investigation conducted interviews with about 70 youths at the facility and gathered information from on-site visits June 3 and July 23, 2003. The report said inadequate training and Ando's supervision of staff had contributed to the problems.
According to the report, the girls' facility had only three female guards, none on duty overnight. In 2001, two guards who allegedly sexually assaulted youths were transferred to the boys' facility, the report said.
Also, girls reported that male guards sometimes made comments about raping them, according to the report.
The ACLU became involved after receiving a letter from a youth smuggled out by a "sympathetic guard" describing abuses at HYCF.
The state is conducting a criminal probe into abuses at HYCF and other problems there.
Other problems noted in the ACLU report included excessive confinement to cells; lack of privacy at the girls' facility; lack of exercise and recreation time; inadequate schooling and lack of access to education; unreasonable limitations on outside contact with families, friends and attorneys; inadequate medical and mental health care; and a "completely defunct" grievance process."
The report listed 47 recommendations, including a population cap that would require automatic release of juveniles to alternate placements anytime the male population exceeds 30 or the female population, 20.
The report also recommends doing away with room confinement and physical force as a means of managing the facility, and not placing wards in lockdown for longer than 24 hours.
In January, community and government officials formed a group to change conditions at the facility and create more alternatives to youth incarceration.
The Hawai'i Juvenile Justice Project, made up of about two dozen people representing nonprofit community organizations, public agencies and others, is aimed at using a "nonlegal approach to raise awareness statewide about what juveniles face when they break the law, and to make improvements to the juvenile justice system," the ACLU said.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
