She says she tries to be like a sponge, absorbing and learning as much as possible about the facility. She says she sees a facility in a condition that many would find appalling. Although built to house 174 residents, the training school currently holds about 220 residents. Kids will often sleep on mattresses in the hall. The court order was last revised in the late 1980s.
Negotiations are under way to rewrite the court order.
Weisburd stresses that the facility is going in the right direction. According to Weisburd, the training school wants to cooperate and improve. The resources are just not there. One way Weisburd has tried to benefit the facility is by creating a handbook to give new residents a feel of the institution and what they can expect. Weisburd worked with the residents to form a collection of poems, drawings and advice from residents who have been at the training school a while.