Every room in the cramped brick building has become a multi-purpose room, according to Groff. A tiny room near the center's entrance serves as an intake interview room, a detention hearing room and an office for the Chaplin, probation officers and attorneys, though not necessarily at the same time. The number of those actually admitted to Barnes Hall are only part of the story, however. This year, as in 1999, an average of 30 juveniles are monitored electronically because there are no beds available for them in the detention center. Though Barnes Hall has passed recent annual state inspections, Groff said that every year the center is cited for overcrowding.
State regulations require one staff member on duty for every six residents.
Groff said he is constantly pressed to keep that ratio, and often must call in workers on their days off. We are staffed as though we have 23 occupants, so when we go over that, we are short. Barnes Hall director McKinley Generette said staffing costs drive up the total daily costs of housing each juvenile. He said he must take regular staff away from the center whenever a juvenile is placed out of the county. Many go to York County juvenile detention center, others are transported by van to treatment facilities as far away as Pittsburgh, while some go to a center near State College.