CHEYENNE - An attorney who has led numerous class action lawsuits over the rights of jailed youth says a much-criticized juvenile detention center in Casper should be closed as soon as possible.

Youth would have difficulty evacuating the facility during a fire and aren't adequately monitored when they might be at risk of hurting themselves or others, wrote Patricia Arthur, an attorney with the National Center for Youth Law in Oakland, Calif., in a recent letter to Donna Sheen, chairwoman of Wyoming's State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice.

Arthur also wrote that youths languish in "cold, concrete jail cells without natural light" and are not let outside for fresh air and exercise.

"This is widely recognized as a condition that breeds depression and negative behaviors in this population of youth," the letter said.

Natrona County officials said Tuesday the facility should remain open until the county can get enough money together - $12 million to $14 million - to build a new one.

"The facility, while it maybe isn't adequate, I think it will get us by until we get a new one built," Natrona County Commission Chairman Rob Hendry said.

Arthur toured the facility in December with members of the juvenile justice advisory council, who invited her to join them. Reached by phone Tuesday, Arthur said the facility is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

"I was quite appalled at what I saw," she said.

However, she also said there are signs Wyoming is improving its approach to juvenile justice and she's not gearing up for any sort of litigation.

"These situations are opportunities to really carefully look at the whole system that you're providing for kids who get in trouble with the law," she said.

The juvenile justice advisory council met by teleconference Tuesday to discuss how to respond to the letter. The council decided to write a press release that could publicly echo Arthur's call to close the facility - or might simply ask Natrona County and Cornerstone Programs what they've done to fix problems noted by Arthur. The problems included a malfunctioning monitoring camera and exposed wiring.

Natrona County owns the facility at the third floor of its Hall of Justice Building and Centennial, Colo.-based Cornerstone runs the facility.

"I think there's some pretty good programming up there," Matt Keating, a Natrona County commissioner and advisory council member, said on the call. "The issues with recreation are indefensible, I agree."

Keating pointed out that if the facility closed, the youths would need to be held elsewhere.

But council member Marc Homer, with the Wyoming Children's Action Alliance, sided with Arthur's call to close the facility immediately.

"When are we going to shut this place down, where all of these human rights abuses are going on?" Homer said. "Let's act with all urgency and get this thing shut down."

Natrona County used to keep adult inmates in the facility. A lawsuit forced the county to build a modern jail for adults in the 1990s. The county subsequently began using the old jail to hold juveniles.

"That this antiquated, catacomb-like facility was resurrected to incarcerate juveniles after it was deemed unfit as an adult jail speaks volumes," Arthur's letter said.

"I wasn't prepared, however, for how bad the facility is, and how badly it needs to be closed."

Problems with the facility also were pointed out in a National Partnership for Juvenile Services report in December 2007. The report warned the facility's layout increased the likelihood of youths killing or assaulting one another. Three months later, two boys sexually assaulted two other boys in the facility, which has room for up to 40 juveniles ages 12 to 17.

Hendry said the commission has hired an architect to begin planning for a new juvenile facility but isn't in a position to begin building.

"We recognize that a new facility is probably the way to go instead of pouring money into this one. But right now Natrona County doesn't have the resources to do that," Hendry said.

Natrona County Sheriff Mark Benton said the county recently spent $80,000 improving fire safety at the juvenile facility. He said Cornerstone has done a good job since taking over operations last year.

"It is not ideal," Benton said. "But I don't believe it needs to be closed down."