Barnes Hall, in use for at least another year, is not a pretty place.
Youth often spend weeks in the dank facility awaiting hearings.
The lucky ones get a room of their own, as required by the state, complete with chipped paint and cracked tile on the floor. One afternoon this week, seven teen-age boys played games at tables in a dayroom that serves as their shared bedroom. A stack of 12 green mats sat in a corner of the room, waiting to become beds at night. Groff said overcrowding creates tension that makes an already volatile situation worse. A female wing sleeps five juvenile girls, while the west wing can house 18 males.