KEY POINTS:
A $1.4 million centre for youth offenders in Hamilton is down to a single young resident after the only other resident ran away for a third time.
Te Hurihanga, a national pilot project opened on April 27 to pioneer a new way of reforming young offenders, has at least 12 staff, with more to come, and a three-year budget of $5.17 million.
But so far only two youths have been referred there by Child, Youth and Family Services. Both have run away away twice in the past month and one ran away again a week ago.
After the second escape, a Youth Court judge told the youngsters they would not get a third chance, so the present runaway is not expected to return.
The remaining resident is now being looked after by a manager, a residential manager, three night staff, three psychologists, a therapist, a skills trainer-cum-teacher, a fulltime kaumatua and at least one other staff member.
"House-parents" for the eight-bedroom facility, and a "whanau worker" to work with young offenders' families, have yet to be recruited.
The unlocked centre, next to an Anglican Action home for solo mothers in a social service village at Te Ara Hou, was opposed by local residents when first proposed in another suburb, Frankton, three years ago.
The location was moved first to Melville, where locals again fought the proposal, and finally to Te Ara Hou on Morrinsville Rd in Hillcrest.
Hillcrest Action Group spokesman Craig Appleton said the repeated escapes had confirmed the neighbourhood's worst fears. "We are annoyed because it's what we reckoned would happen all along."
But Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft said judges had been calling for years for longer-term treatment for serious youth offenders. Until now, the maximum sentence available to them, short of an adult jail, has been three months in a CYFS residence followed by six months' supervision.
Te Hurihanga offers a nine- to 18-month programme of intensive treatment in the centre, transition to home and family therapy.
