Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday that legislative hearings looking into complaints at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility have been political, giving the public "a very unfair portrayal of what's taking place" and downplaying the improvements that have been made under her administration.

Lingle, speaking after a Veterans Day commemoration yesterday at the Hawai'i State Veterans Cemetery, said the number of youths housed at the facility has been reduced from 93 in August 2003 to 55, a testament to the progress that has been made at the Windward facility.

"The conditions are much improved from a couple of years ago," Lingle said. "Nowhere near what we think it should be, and it's going to be a challenge to get where we need to go, but we are going to achieve it."

Medical staff, teachers, social workers and guards this week testified that chaotic and often violent conditions at the facility have been ignored or minimized by the administration.

"I think the hearings are not being held in a helpful way," Lingle said. " ... We're going to stay focused on the kids. That's what it's all about."

Lingle said her administration will continue to work on improving the facility "not because of a legislative committee hearing but because it's the right thing to do."

Lingle said she is not satisfied with the progress to date. "I don't think anyone is, and I don't think anyone has taken that position, but we are headed in the right direction," she said.

While much of the discussion has focused on the number of positions at the facility, the governor said, "it's filling the positions that we have available, and because of the labor market in Hawai'i, because of all of the attention on this facility, it's very difficult to hire people to go into a facility like this."

Conditions at the facility have been investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed lawsuits about the treatment of wards there.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.