DENVER—Youths in Colorado correctional facilities are at risk of being assigned to share rooms with other youths considered sexually aggressive, according to a state audit released Monday.
The audit presented to lawmakers also raised concerns about youths being locked in their rooms as punishment, and about potential due-process violations.
The report cites no specific cases in which youth were harmed as a result of their room placement. But auditors said that from 2006 to 2010, about one-third of sexual assault or sexual abuse cases at Colorado’s youth correctional facilities occurred in sleeping quarters. Auditors reviewed 79 cases of sexual violence during that time.
The audit concluded youth safety is compromised “because facilities do not ensure that youth are placed with a suitable roommate.”
Auditors said that of nine facilities they went to, four did not prohibit the practice of putting vulnerable victims with aggressive youths.
Staffers at youth correctional facilities conduct assessments to determine the risk level of incoming youth and which youth are susceptible to victimization. But auditors cited inaccuracies and inconsistencies in how correctional staff uses the assessments to determine the room assignments.
The audit recommended better training and guidance for staffers on interpreting and implementing assessment results when working on room assignments.
Colorado has 62 youth correctional facilities, which oversee youths ranging in age from 10 to 21. Eleven of the facilities are state-run and the rest are operated by contractors.
The state Department of Human Services oversees youth corrections. The agency’s executive director, Reggie Bicha, agreed with the audit’s recommendations and said officials are implementing changes to make sure room assignments are handled correctly.
Ultimately, the aim is to “make sure that youth under our care are safe when they’re in our facilities,” Bicha said.
The audit also found due process violations. It said nearly 60 percent of youths receive less than 24 hours’ notice for disciplinary hearings. Auditors reviewed just under 33,000 “major rule violations” from 2006 to 2010. Those are cases where youths are accused of fighting, intimidation or trying to escape.
The due process violations mean “youth accused of major rule violations were deprived of some of the protections designed to ensure youth have the opportunity to refute the accusations against them,” the audit said.
The audit also examined how facilities used behavior management programs, such separating and locking up a youth by themselves when they pose a threat to themselves or others. Under state law, the practice is not supposed to be used as punishment, the auditors said. But in one case, a youth facility applied the process to entire housing units and youths were locked in their rooms for an average of four days, with only limited interaction with staff and other youth.
Bicha said his department put an end to that practice at the facility immediately after auditors alerted him. He added the department is “pursuing all appropriate personnel action” in the matter.
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