Posted on: Friday, September 24, 2004

Girls now in Utah facility

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

Six girls who had been wards at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility are in Utah after being flown out earlier this week, a state official said yesterday.

People opposed to the transfer vow to monitor how the girls are treated and see that they come home at the end of what the state said would be a 60-day placement.

Three girls left Monday night and three left Tuesday, said Sharon Agnew, executive director of the Office of Youth Services. The girls were accompanied to Utah by facility administrator Kaleve Tufono-Iosefa, who was to return to Hawai'i last night, Agnew said.

The Office of Youth Services, which oversees the facility in Kailua, announced last week that the girls would be moved to allow the state to upgrade a building used to house wards and alleviate crowding in the boys' facility.

Some advocates for youth reacted angrily to the news that the move had been completed. Kat Brady, legislative coordinator for the Hawai'i Juvenile Justice Project, called it "outrageous" because parents of the girls were only notified about the transfer last Thursday and because, she said, the state had not inspected the Utah facility before putting the wards on a plane.

Agnew acknowledged that the administrator went on the trip in part because there had not been an inspection but said the administrator has called with assurances that the facilities and programs are of high quality.

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."

The girls had extended visitation hours with their families last Sunday, Agnew said, and to help bridge the distance since their departure, videoconference calls are being arranged for family members in Hawai'i. Also, the Utah program allows visitation three times weekly as compared to the one per week at HYCF, she said.

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

Agnew acknowledged that the girls were shackled while en route — a circumstance that Brady said could have been avoided had they been placed in a Hawai'i facility.

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

Meanwhile, Agnew said more girls were admitted Friday to the Kailua facility, and staff is investigating whether they can be placed in programs locally; if not, they might 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 that a secured facility provides, she said.

Agnew said the six are together in the same section of what she would only describe 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," she 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 expert in juvenile issues.

Also, there is a strong Pacific islander cultural component to the Utah program that will help the girls, many of whom are of Pacific islander descent, she said. Agnew also cited the facility's "foster parent" program to ensure that the children feel cared for.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.