Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility

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Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility is the state of Hawaii's youth prison. It is located on the windward side of the island of Oahu near the city of Kailua.

"Delinquency services are organized at the state level in Hawaii. However, responsibility is divided between the judicial and executive branches. Family Courts are responsible for secure detention, delinquency intake, predisposition investigation, and probation supervision. The Office of Youth Services, within the Department of Human Services, administers commitment programs and aftercare."

"The First Judicial Circuit, Detention Services Branch, administers the only secure detention facility in the state for youth. Youth from other judicial circuits are transported to this detention facility. A portion of funding for secure detention services is provided as a line item in the state court budget and a portion is contained in the general fund for running the state court. Detention options include non-secure shelters, foster homes, and residential group homes." [1]

"Hawaii is considering juvenile justice reforms to address systemic problems identified in a 2003 investigative report written by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The Governor has appointed Sharon Agnew, Executive Director of the Office of Youth Services, which oversees HYCF, and the ACLU has organized the Hawaii Juvenile Justice Project to discuss ongoing reforms that will address the issues contained in its investigative study." [2]

The following is an exerpt from a Honolulu Star-Bulletin article regarding three legislative hearings held in November 2005 regarding the youth facility. The article is dated November 1, 2005 and entitled, Lingle welcomes youth prison hearing:

"I'm hoping that these hearings that the Legislature hosts are very open -- that the people from our staff are given an opportunity to lay out what we have achieved and what remains to be achieved," Lingle said yesterday. "The early indication, however, is that it was going to be a lot of politics."
Lawmakers said they decided to hold hearings to investigate why allegations of harsh conditions and abusive treatment persist at the Kailua lockup more than two years after the concerns were first raised by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii.
Similar concerns were raised by the U.S. Department of Justice, which conducted its own investigation into the youth prison in October 2004 and released its report in August saying the facility existed in a "state of chaos."
Lingle removed the top two administrators at the facility after the ACLU's initial report in August 2003, and subsequent investigations have yielded a handful of convictions against youth corrections officers.
Administration officials have said they are implementing reforms and working on policies and procedures for personnel within the framework of union contracts. Officials also are focusing on diversion programs to reduce overcrowding at the youth correctional facility by keeping young offenders out of the prison system altogether.
Lawmakers say they are concerned that even though the population at the youth prison has been lower than in the past, when the allegations first surfaced, the administration still has had trouble getting the situation under control.
"The small number (of inmates) is one that makes it so that we should be able to have a handle on the situation," said Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa (D, Nanakuli-Makua), who will co-chair the legislative hearings. "The fact that the recent (Justice Department) report shows us that there's still a major problem causes us to say we don't want to be in a Felix Consent Decree situation." [3]</p>


On Feb. 7, 2006, a deal was announced between federal Justice Department officials and attorneys for the State of Hawaii regarding 18 recommendations made for improving the youth prison by Justice Department officials in their August report. The deal was aggressively pursued by State Attorney General Mark Bennett to avoid a court-ordered consent decree that would put the prison under federal oversight. In a Honolulu Star-Bulletin article dated Feb. 8, 2006, the highlights of the deal was listed:

The Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility agreement between the state and the federal government sets forth policies and procedures aimed at:
  • Protecting inmates from harm from guards and fellow inmates;
  • Developing an adequate grievance procedure;
  • Providing proper training for guards and other administrators;
  • Creating policies to recognize and provide adequate treatment for suicidal inmates and providing access to education for inmates with disabilities. [4]


In a Honolulu Star-Bulltein article dated Feb. 9, 2006, Gov. Lingle discusses the ongoing and future reform of HYCF:

Lingle said her administration brought in experts in youth incarceration who will spend the next two years implementing changes.
"This will bring a turnaround to a very troubled facility," the governor said.
She referred to U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright's ruling that there has not been any training at the Kailua youth facility since the 1980s.
In his 77-page ruling, Seabright said there was evidence to support allegations that verbal, sexual and physical abuse and harassment of inmates indicates that the problems at the youth facility were not addressed.
Whether anyone in supervisory positions is disciplined depends on what charges are made, Lingle said.
The governor said that since taking office two years ago, her administration has prosecuted people who worked at the Kailua youth facility.
The governor has removed two administrators and pursued criminal convictions against guards.
The agreement comes six months after a Justice Department report cited inadequate policies and procedures, staffing shortages and deficient training for the guards. [5]


In May 2006, the Hawaii State Auditor, Marion Higa, published the audit, Management Audit of the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility [6]

In a May 11, 2006 Star-Bulletin article, Mark Niesse reported:

The state will pay $625,000 and change its polices at the state's only youth prison to settle a lawsuit over alleged abuse of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inmates, according to terms of a proposed settlement.
The lawsuit involves three inmates at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility who are lesbian, transgender and gay, the attorney general's office said.
They claimed the guards made humiliating remarks and failed to protect a male-to-female transgender prisoner from other inmates. They also said correctional officers did not intervene when they were harassed by other youths in the prison.
The state attorney general's office and the American Civil Liberties Union have agreed to the dollar figure of the settlement, but they are still trying to decide how to divide the money, said Deputy Attorney General John Molay.
The settlement would give $600,000 to the three inmates and the ACLU. The other $25,000 would be spent on a contract with an expert to form new sexual orientation policies at the youth prison, Molay said. [7]


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