Three girls left Monday night and three left Tuesday, said Sharon Agnew, executive director of the Office of Youth Services, the agency that oversees the state facility. They were accompanied to Utah by facility administrator Kaleve Tufono-Iosefa, who is to return to Hawai'i tonight, Agnew said.

The Office of Youth Servicesannounced last week that the girls would be transferred to allow the state to upgrade a building used to house wards and alleviate the crowding problem in the boys facility.

Some in the youth advocacy community reacted angrily today to the news the move had been completed. Kat Brady, legislative coordinator for the Hawaii Juvenile Justice Project, called it "outrageous" because parents of the girls were only notified about the transfer last Thursday and because the state had not inspected the facility before putting the wards on a plane.

Lois Perrin, legal director for the Honolulu office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said her office would "keep in contact with the girls and monitor conditions and do everything possible to see that they get back in 60 days."

Agnew said more girls were admitted to the facility on Friday, and staff is investigating whether they can be placed in programs locally; if not they may be sent to Utah as well. She would not specify how many newcomers there are.

The state has considered this transfer carefully and began working on the plan a year ago, Agnew said, trying reduce the youth facility population as much as possible by placing wards in alternative programs.

The six girls were deemed inappropriate for these programs and in need of the closer supervision a secured facility provides, she said.

Agnew said the six are now together in the same section of what described as a secure juvenile facility in Salt Lake City. The only problem so far seems to have been jet lag, she said.

"Two of the girls jumped right into programs," Agnew said. "Some were tired and needed a day of sleep."

Agnew said the state has considered various alternatives for placement and said the Utah facility came "highly recommended" by Russ Van Fleet, a national ex pert in juvenile issues.

There is a strong Pacific Islander cultural component to the Utah program which will help the girls, largely of Pacific Islander extraction, she said. Agnew also cited the facility's "foster parent" program to ensure that the children feel cared for.

"We think this is a positive thing," she added. "We think this a opportunity to get programs they can't get here.

"They're receiving a life skills program, substance abuse counseling, behavior management counseling," she said — programs offered but "very inconsistent" at HYCF.

On this end, technology is being used to bridge the distance between the girls and their families, she said. The Utah program allows visitation three times weekly as compared to the one per week at HYCF, Agnew said, and videoconference calls are being arranged for family members in Hawai'i.

Brady countered that the calls may be more frequent but no substitute for personal contact of visits to a home facility.

Others who expressed disappointment with the move today include the Rev. Sam Cox, treasurer of the Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii, one of the organizations opposing the transfer.

"I'm shocked and sad," Cox said. "I really see this as a no-win situation. I'm very disappointed there hasn't been more dialogue."

Agnew acknowledged that the girls were shackled while en route — a circumstance that Brady said could have been avoided with local placement.

"We've sent these kids to some place we have never inspected," she said. "The way this department has handled this transfer is shameful."