FRANKFORT – (TNS) Gov. Andy Beshear’s proposed new regulations for youths held in isolation by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice won’t do anything to improve conditions inside the state’s troubled juvenile detention facilities, the state auditor’s office said Tuesday.

Lorran Hart Ferguson, chief of staff to state Auditor Allison Ball, spoke at a public hearing on the regulations at the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.

Ball has tracked problems at the juvenile detention facilities since she issued a report last year criticizing them for mismanagement, cruel isolation policies and high levels of extreme use of force.

Since the report was released, the news media regularly continues to report on the abuse and neglect of youths held at the facilities, Ferguson said Tuesday.

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