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The New Times examines the conditions at the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. The series reveals "evidence of physical, sexual and verbal abuse of juvenile detainees by staff, inadequate mental health services and instances where kids were kept in detention far longer than their recommended time of stay." One of the stories focused on how the department was providing substandard education. Another article shed light on the vicious practice of using solitary confinement as punishment for days or weeks, without allowing the detainees to go to classes or to the bathroom. The conditions deteriorated after a federal court order requiring the department to be monitored expired in 1998, the Times reports. Juveniles are released when they turn 18 without any adequate preparation or support.