Oregon should establish meaningful and independent oversight of juvenile detention facilities, a coalition of prominent criminal justice reform groups and juvenile justice advocates said in a letter sent Tuesday to the governor and key lawmakers.

Nearly a dozen organizations, including the ACLU of Oregon, as well as groups that advocate for people with mental illness and juveniles, asked Gov. Kate Brown for “support in reducing Oregon’s reliance on youth incarceration” and ensuring better conditions for juveniles in custody.

The letter was prompted by Disability Rights Oregon’s blistering critique of the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility, known as Norcor, in The Dalles. The organization, which advocates for the disabled in Oregon, found that juveniles at the regional facility were locked in their cells for hours at a time and punished “for looking around.”

The group detailed what it called “inhumane” conditions and treatment of juveniles at the facility, which also detains adults in a separate facility and serves 17 Oregon counties, the Warm Springs reservation and a handful of Washington counties.

The facility was created through a partnership among Wasco, Hood River, Sherman and Gilliam counties, which help pay the jail’s operating costs.

A representative of the organization visited the jail multiple times, spoke with juveniles and concluded that its outdated policies are designed to “break the will at any cost” and are out of step with the latest research and practices on juvenile incarceration.

On Tuesday, groups that advocate for the disabled, as well as civil, juvenile and immigrants’ rights, said they were “deeply troubled” by the report’s findings that youth as young as 12 were “locked in their cells for multiple hours each day, denied human contact and deprived of basic coping tools, such as books, pencils and family photos.”

The authors of the letter said a 2015 report by a national organization cited “harmful practices” at Norcor.

“The fact that these problems continued unabated points to a lack of statewide leadership and oversight,” they wrote.

Brown's office issued a statement Tuesday, saying the governor "expects all youth in custody in Oregon to be treated fairly and with dignity."

Bryan Hockaday, a spokesman for Brown, said the governor asked for a "comprehensive review" of the state's juvenile justice system.

"The findings and recommendations from this statewide review will help inform ways Oregon can reduce the number of youth in detention and lower juvenile recidivism rates, while keeping our communities safer and setting youth on a path for success," Hockaday said.

The organizations asked the state to carry out risk assessments on juveniles to “determine the least restrictive placement,” access to an independent investigator for complaints of abuse or neglect and access to “a full day of education five days a week.”

The group also called for the state to impose new standards on when to place juveniles in isolation, asking that it only be used in emergencies.

It asked the state to ensure facilities document and review when young offenders are placed in isolation or restraints.

Norcor administrator Bryan Brandenburg on Tuesday said he hadn’t seen the letter but called the report politically motivated and misleading. However, he said officials have made a series of policy changes related to discipline, grievances and orientation since disability advocates visited the jail last year.

He said the Oregon Youth Authority suspended its practice of housing juveniles at Norcor until an independent assessment is completed. That assessment is scheduled to happen next week, Brandenburg said.

The groups asked the state to ensure juvenile jails comply with the new standards by funding independent oversight of the facilities.

The organizations that signed the letter include: Partnership for Safety and Justice, Oregon Justice Resource Center, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Disability Rights Oregon, Youth Rights & Justice, the ACLU of Oregon, the Coalition of Communities of Color , FACT Oregon, Causa, Opening Doors Project and the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School.

-- Noelle Crombie

ncrombie@oregonian.com

503-276-7184

@noellecrombie