Last month, the director of Shuman Juvenile Detention Center assured county residents that problems that triggered a downgrade in its state license had been corrected.

It looks like "mission accomplished" was declared prematurely.

The most serious violation found in June by inspectors from the state Department of Public Welfare was too many offenders and inadequate staff to handle them. That situation, and some other factors, warranted a six-month provisional license for the facility in the city's Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood instead of a yearlong operating license.

Center director William T. "Jack" Simmons last month said shifts had been adjusted, supervisors would be pitching in and new workers were being hired so Shuman would be in compliance with the state regulation that says there must be one child-care worker for every six children during all waking hours.

But on Aug. 30, two weeks after Mr. Simmons and county Chief Executive Dan Onorato said all of Shuman's deficiencies had been addressed, a female youth worker was briefly left alone to supervise nine teenage boys. The evidence of why that was a bad idea showed on her face -- she sustained a black eye when one of the youths struck her.

The supervisor who was working with her only had stepped out of the unit to get clothing for youths who were showering, but that obviously took too long. That's no doubt why the regulations are specific in saying the one-to-six ratio for child-care workers directly supervising children "is to be maintained at all times." Not some of the time or most of the time. All the time.

The supervisor has been suspended, but wasn't this lesson one that Shuman said it had learned a month ago?

Another questionable incident occurred on Aug. 24 when a youth received a cut above his eye. He had flooded his room by stuffing clothing down the toilet, became violent and was restrained in handcuffs. The youth said a staff member threw him against a wall, but workers said he injured himself by banging his head against the wall.

Managing a facility filled with teens, many of whom have been charged with serious offenses, is not easy work, but it is vital that Shuman operate properly and safely. Unfortunately, it looks like Shuman needs the additional oversight from the state that comes with its provisional license.

The mission of clearing up problems at Shuman is not yet accomplished.