Officials at Shuman Juvenile Detention Center say they'll retrain staff and audit their records to correct a laundry list of violations the state discovered this summer.

The Department of Public Welfare issued Shuman a six-month provisional license last month after inspectors found inadequate staffing, building disrepair, poor record-keeping and other problems at the Lincoln-Lemington facility.

Some of those problems, including a leaky roof and dirty vents, have been fixed or are being addressed, Shuman Director William T. "Jack" Simmons told the Allegheny County Council's public safety committee last night.

"There are a lot of issues we're dealing with at Shuman," Mr. Simmons said, adding that he's "pleased with our progress," despite three fights there in recent weeks that sent people to hospitals.

Vents have been cleaned, Mr. Simmons said, since inspectors found one with nearly one-half-inch of dust on it. A leaky roof that was supposed to be replaced this past spring is slated for repair the first week of October.

Also among inspectors' most serious findings were poorly documented medical records, including instances in which medications given to residents were not recorded. None of 22 resident files inspectors reviewed had a written plan in case of a medical emergency.

Mr. Simmons said "aggressive auditing" by a health services supervisor, a position Shuman went without for seven months, aims to fix that problem. He said the supervisor will routinely check medical records to make sure they include immunization records, and documentation of sickle cell testing and dispensing of medications. Similar audits will be done on residents' admissions folders weekly or monthly, he said.

Staff are being retrained on Shuman's updated personnel policy manual, copies of which will be placed in each unit of the facility. Supervisors also face "stringent training," Mr. Simmons said.

"I'm big into training," he said. "It's necessary."

Inspectors this summer also found the facility out of compliance with state-mandated minimum staffing requirements of one staff member for every six residents, warning that could cause a situation involving unruly inmates to spiral out of control.

"Ratio is being preached at Shuman every single day," Mr. Simmons said.

Last month, a 15-year-old boy punched a female staff member, giving her a black eye. At the time, the staff member was supervising nine teens by herself, three more than state regulations allow.

But Mr. Simmons said the issue of ratio wasn't a factor in an incident in the Shuman gym a week later, in which the same teen suffered a broken nose while fighting with another resident.

In a separate case in August, an unruly teen was handcuffed behind his back and restrained-face down on a floor flooded with toilet water. He suffered a cut above his eye that required stitches.

Mr. Simmons last night down-played the incidents, saying fights have always been going on at Shuman, but recent scrutiny on the facility is "unprecedented."

"It's detention, these are tough kids," Mr. Simmons said. "They have issues that they bring into Shuman. They're not created by Shuman."