A state legislative committee has scheduled a series of hearings beginning next week on reported problems at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility, including allegations of nepotism and cronyism in hiring and abuse of overtime and sick leave by guards.

State Rep. Sylvia Luke, D-26th (Punchbowl, Pacific Heights, Nu'uanu Valley) and the committee's co-chair, said the panel also will look into charges that facility administrators repeatedly failed to develop policies that protect both youth and staff.

The youth prison, which now houses about 70 inmates, is the subject of a U.S. Justice Department investigation and the state has been sued twice this year by the American Civil Liberties Union over facility conditions.

"We're not only concerned about the lack of policies and training," Luke said yesterday, "but we're concerned that conditions at the youth prison have jeopardized the health and safety of the kids and staff there."

"There are allegations of nepotism and cronyism in hiring there," she added.

HYCF administrator Kaleve Tufono-Iosefa last night denied that any employees were hired for those reasons. "That doesn't happen here," she said.

Luke also complained that the facility's policymaking process was deficient. "Just yesterday, they finally issued six new policies out of the dozens that are necessary and they appear to be based in part on administrative rules that have ... been repealed or no longer exist," Luke said.

Sharon Agnew, head of the state Office of Youth Services, said last night that HYCF has completed 22 new policies out of a total of 199 that need to be drafted. Contractual consultations with two unions affected by the policies have been completed for the first six, Agnew said, and officials are nearing completion for 16 more.

The initial 22 "are the most difficult" and involve issues such as use of force, suicide prevention, allegations of abuse and grievance procedures, said Agnew.

Luke will co-chair the legislative hearings with Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha). The hearings are scheduled for Nov. 4, 8 and 10 at the state Capitol.

One of the hearings will address overtime and sick-leave expenses at HYCF, which Luke said are running 33 percent over budgeted salaries.

"One guard whose base salary is supposedly $35,000 is getting annual pay of more than $80,000 because of overtime," Luke said.

Tufono-Iosefa said last night that the employee who received more than $80,000 is actually working two jobs — one as a guard and the other as a part-time investigator.

Luke said high overtime rates at HYCF are "hard to understand because the ratio of guards to inmates at the youth prison is the highest of any state correctional facility."

"The ratio is 1-to-1. There are 70 guards and about 70 youth at HYCF," she said.

At Waiawa Correctional Facility, the ratio is 4-to-1 or about 80 guards and 320 inmates, Luke said. But she said overtime costs there are about 8 percent to 10 percent above salaries.

"There may be problems with the union in controlling the situation," Luke acknowledged, referring to the United Public Workers that represents the guards. "But the guards at HYCF are working under the same union contract as the guards at the adult prison."

Tufono-Iosefa and Agnew said that comparing staffing ratios at adult and juvenile facilities is unfair because the work requirements are different. They acknowledged that overtime pay has been a "historic" problem at HYCF but is now being "monitored aggressively."

Luke said the committee also will look into a consulting contract awarded to a Texas woman, Nancy Emmert, to improve management at HYCF. "First they tried to give her a nine-month, sole-source contract for $91,900, but the state Office of Procurement blocked that," said Luke. "Then they gave her a three-month, sole-source contract for $31,600 and we want to look into the reasons why."

Emmert could not be reached for comment, but Lillian Koller, head of the state Department of Human Services, which oversees the HYCF and the Office of Youth Services, said last night that Emmert has "an incredible resume" and was initially hired last year on a "small purchase training contract."

This year, the three-month contract was awarded so that Emmert, who formerly worked for the Texas Youth Commission, could provide training for HYCF staff to address "critical issues" raised by federal investigators, Agnew told the Office of Procurement.

Now Emmert and a five-member team of consultants have been hired under a two-year, competitively-bid contract worth $450,000, Agnew said last night. The contract began Oct. 1.

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.