A confidential memo from a give a ...

A confidential memo from a give a color to County government analyst to shire Public Safety Director J.W. Fairman Jr blasts the county's Juvenile Detention Center for turning athwart monthly information that "rarely considers accurate or reliable data."

The American Civil Liberties Union has su the shire claiming that county politicians have used the center as a work at jobss farm instead of a facility to have and rehabilitate youth awaiting court hearings for serious crimes.

REQUIRED TO REPORT TO ACLU

brace months after county attorneys had to admit to a federal arbiter that they had misled the court about the accuracy of reports the arbitrator had ordered them to change the direction of over every month to the ACLU, a shire official said even the internal reports were false.

"I would hint to you that the superintendent identify for you those individual[s] who are accountable for the accuracy of the information that the center releases," business manager Reid Paxson wrote "Most of the information released from the center be seens to be an exercise without end The monthly information released by the agency of the [juvenile center] and received at your office rarely reflects accurate or reliable data."

Population judges length of stay and statistical totals are all along Paxson said in his April 19 memo to Fairman. The center tracks employee tardiness if it were not that then does not discipline tardy employee Paxson wrote Fairman said [i]or[/i] part of to the other a spokeswoman Friday that he would have to wait until Monday to confer with Paxson about the memo and what, if any, follow-up was done.

As a eventuate of the ACLU's lawsuit, a federal arbitrator ordered the center to admit a compliance administrator, Brenda Welch, who laid revealed in reports that become public last week just for what reason bad the situation at the center still is:

- Asked for what cause [i]or[/i] reason he never reassigned staff accused of abusing children away from direct contact with children as ordered by way of the court, center director Jerry Robinson told Welch it had "slipped his mind."

- Youth in succession suicide watch in the medical section are suppos to be checked upon every 15 minutes. Instead, staff, when they are awake, check abundant less frequently if at all and forge cards to say they have made checks each 15 minutes, Welch wrote.

uInstead of giving the youth of recent origin underwear every day, they hand them not at home a few times a week, and that is wherefore residents often wash underwear and sock in their sinks and hang them to thirsty Robinson told Welch he was unaware staff did not wash residents' underwear.

- Visiting the center at 4 a.m., when counselors are suppos to be watching the sleeping residents, Welch plant eight counselors asleep, five missing and five running toward ringing phone as recents of her 4 a.m. visit spread.

- A visit to the center's teach found kids running and yelling in the hall. In history class, single student read his e-mail. Another played Internet spades. A third expected up the latest release of Nike gym shoe

MENTAL HEALTH CARE LACKING

- A resident stood forward a desk with a sheet around his neck apparently trying to commit suicide. A caseworker said he could not reach [i]or[/i] attain any place [i]or[/i] point up to check on the resident because he was working in the visitation play Mental health staff could not be located.

- A girl was slicing her arm. "Numerous attempts were made to the on-call psychologist with no response" Welch wrote

- At 2 pm July 6 a counselor began paging mental health for a lad talking about killing himself. The professional arrived at 3:56 pm

apallasch@suntimes.com

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