SA youth prison only adequately recorded half of hospitalisations, damning watchdog report finds

Shona Reid says ‘gaps in information’ in Kurlana Tapa youth justice centre’s records are hurting transparency and oversight

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The South Australian youth justice centre linked to the prolonged isolation of children and multiple incidents of self-harm has again failed to improve its record-keeping, the state’s watchdog says, making it impossible for her to gauge the extent of its problems.

In a report tabled in state parliament on Thursday, the SA guardian for children and young people, Shona Reid, found the Kurlana Tapa youth justice centre only recorded about half as many incidents as it should have. This included cases involving self-harm or the use of restraints by staff.