Monday, Ragaglia said those efforts have paid off. The study, conducted from April to October 2000, found that Long Lane exceeded the average of the other participating sites in 57 percent of the areas measured. In 20 percent of those areas, Long Lane performed at the highest level. The school has also done a better job assessing juveniles as they come into Long Lane, making sure youths are receiving the mental health and substance abuse treatments prescribed in their plans, and reducing incidents of suicidal behavior leading to injuries, DCF officials said. The average in this category for the other 56 facilities studied was 65 percent.
Some areas still require improvement, however.
Long Lane School uses isolation and room confinement far more than the other facilities in the study. During the six months studied, for example, staff at Long Lane used isolation 235 times - a rate that is almost double the rate at other facilities. DCF spokesman Gary Kleeblatt said that finding is somewhat offset by the fact that juveniles are confined and isolated at Long Lane for shorter periods than they are at other facilities in the study.