A report issued Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska criticizes county and state governments for what the ACLU calls the overuse of solitary confinement for jailed teenagers in the state."Before they are old enough to get a driver's license, enlist in the armed forces or vote, some children in Nebraska are held in solitary confinement for days, weeks, even months," said Danielle Conrad, ACLU of Nebraska executive director in a news release.Youth at the detention center in Lancaster County could be placed in isolation for having too many books in their room, talking in the hallway or passing notes."Those are punishments for kids being kids," Conrad said."What Nebraska is doing is harmful to youth and does nothing to improve public safety," said Conrad.The ACLU Nebraska said it's investigation uncovered that kids can be kept in solitary confinement for up to 90 days and there is no uniformed standards or required reporting for the nine youth facilities across the state."The state of the landscape regarding solitary confinement in Nebraska shocks the conscience and should provoke an immediate and deliberate conversation for meaningful reform," Conrad said.The ACLU says it studied solitary confinement in five county facilities and two state facilities in 2014, and 2015. The ACLU study found a wide range of practices including:- In Douglas County, there is no system to track or log the amount of time a juvenile spends in solitary confinement.-Sarpy County has no written policy governing use of solitary confinement.- Nebraska Department of Corrections allows up to 90 days of solitary confinement.The ACLU report suggests a list of reforms including a ban on solitary confinement for juvenile offenders or limiting solitary confinement to a "last resort" punishment lasting no more than four hours.The ACLU also recommends mandatory reporting for facilities using solitary confinement, and mandatory training of staff members at facilities which use the punishment. The ACLU's DHHS Deputy Director, Tony Green, issued the following statement Monday night:"The isolation of youth in secure settings is a serious issue and one DHHS has been addressing for several years. As a result of our work, the average length of stay in isolation during 2014 for youth was 2.55 hours at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney, and 1.99 hours at the YRTC in Geneva. The average length of stay in isolation has dropped about 50 percent at the YRTCs from 2012 to 2014.Since then, we have continued to work on reducing stays in isolation. We currently are one of eight states selected to receive technical assistance in reducing the use of isolation by the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators through its Reducing Isolation in Youth Facilities program. In addition, we follow the American Correctional Association’s guidelines regarding the use of isolation in juvenile facilities, and both YRTCs are accredited by the Association.Currently, we limit solitary confinement as a last resort and, as evidenced by our average stays, aim to keep isolation stays to less than four hours. Our youth are provided due-process and an appeals process. We have instituted mental health examinations for youth in isolation more than a few hours, and permission is necessary from senior management to extend isolation more than four hours. DHHS also reports our use of solitary internally and externally, and staff is trained on alternatives to isolation.DHHS supports the research about the detriments of placing youth in isolation and we’re pleased that of the six ACLU recommendations, we are complying with nearly all of them. Our goal is to further reduce the length of stays in isolation."The Nebraska Department of Corrections issued the following statement:"The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) is working with the Vera Institute of Justice and the Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative as well as other local stakeholders, including the ACLU, Disability Rights of Nebraska and the Inspector General to develop rules and regulations governing the use of restrictive housing for all populations.  NDCS uses restrictive housing as necessary for youthful offenders adjudicated as adults and sentenced to its custody. There are processes in place to ensure a review by the facility warden as well as to provide the individual with a voice to appeal the decision."Lancaster County officials responded with the following statement:"It appears that the point of the report was to focus on the “solitary confinement” being used in our facility and others within our state. The truth is, Solitary Confinement is not used. When youth are separated from others, the goal is to ensure safety of all youth, including them.We did respond to the ACLU’s initial request for information and attempted to explain how to interpret the information we provided. I have not received any additional questions or request to verify their understanding of what was provided and subsequently published. The information published is misleading. For example, in their report the incident they copied from what we submitted to them referred to a youth hanging on the window edge doing pull-ups. This was listed under the section of “Examples of Solitary Confinement” in their report. This particular youth was in Staff Secure in an area where solitary confinement is not possible, as their room doors are not locked and they can exit freely. The staff documented this behavior as a rule violation and the report automatically indicates 1-6 hours of room time, however, the sanction was a loss of points and no room time was given. We supplied raw data in an existing report form due to the time constraints and our computer systems limitations. It is disheartening to see that conclusions were drawn without first validating the accuracy of the interpretation.I have attempted to outline below the three responses to behavior that may separate youth from others for safety and security reasons. Please understand that we also have a behavior management program that serves to elicit cooperation, respect and participation from all youth. When youth display these behaviors, they earn privileges such as later bedtime, extra phone calls and other incentives. In the event the youth does not display these behaviors he/she may be demoted or upon more serious rule infractions the youth may be placed on phase zero where an individualized program is developed for the youth. In most instances, this program allows us to provide a safe facility for all youth.In the event separation needs to occur, there are three options. They are:1. Minor Rule ViolationsThere are up to three options for the same rule violation, depending if it is the first, second or third offense.A resident can receive more than one ‘first offense’ violation.  Staff have the option to issue less discipline than the handbook requires.  They cannot give more. Additionally, and most frequently, the minor rule violations are used to document the action but room time does not occur, rather a non room restriction sanction is given. This includes loss of a point on their behavior management program or loss of a privilege (such as TV or foosball).  Frequently the time is reduced depending upon the lowered risk factors displayed by the youth.Those youth serving room restrictions for minor rule violations are not restricted from visitation, educational or organized groups, professional phone calls, showers, or large muscle activity.  If the youth is restricted to their room during school they either attend school or schoolwork and instruction is brought to them (depending on any safety or security concerns). 2. Major Rule ViolationsSanctions for major rule violations are determined by the Disciplinary Hearing Officer following the hearing with the resident. Examples include Murder within the facility, First Degree Assault within the facility, etc.All youth serving time for a major rule violation are allowed one hour per day out of their room for large muscle activity, one hour out for leisure time with access to the phone, time for a shower, interaction with staff each shift, professional visits, visitation with family or friends if scheduled.  If further  safety/security concerns are not present the youth serving sanctions for a major rule violation may attend all educational programming. Additionally, youth are often given personal empowerment plans for which they can reduce their time by completing actions such as apologies or other restorative actions.3. Special Management-    Special Management is designed for those youth who are unable or unwilling to follow the Behavior Management Program at the Youth Services Center. The goal is to help them learn how to manage themselves to the extent that is needed to be in the general population. When on Special Management the youth is reviewed on a regular basis to see if the program can be changed or adjusted to include more involvement with others and/or more immediate reinforcement of appropriate behavior.Programming is brought to these youth if they cannot attend.In addition, staff and counselors interact with youth on Special Management regularly.This includes Administrative Segregation, Medical Isolation, and Protective Custody."KETV NewsWatch 7 is reaching out to law enforcement agencies named in the ACLU study, and we will update this story as it develops.LINK: Read the report here.