Health and Social Services Minister Nelson Bascome has defended plans to open a $9 million juvenile offenders centre -- claiming it will not be a prison for teenagers.

The Minister responded to claims by The Coalition for the Protection of Children that the money was being badly spent.

Chairwoman of the Coalition, Sheelagh Cooper said the $9 million would be better spent on counselling and diagnostic staff in the Department of Education, as well as increasing the ratios of treatment staff to juveniles in the present residential homes.

But Mr. Bascome said the current system was obviously not working.

He said too often youngsters in residential homes were able to run away, and those with severe problems had to be sent off the Island for treatment because Bermuda was ill-equipt to deal with them.

"The Coalition is being misleading,'' he said.

"The centre is not going to be a centre for incarceration. It is not going to be a prison.

"I have spoken to Mrs. Cooper to discuss exactly what it is we want to achieve.

"Mrs. Cooper recognised that we have a number of young people who are out of control. They run away from the centres we have right now and end up going to some very volatile areas.

"We need to protect these youngsters. That is why we need security in some parts of the new centre -- to offer better protection.'' The Children and Families Minister said what he wanted to create was unlike anything already on the Island. He said the new centre would have a dual-purpose to deal with severe and low-risk behavioural problems, and he said the aim would be to correct behaviour and get children back out in the community and mainstream education.

It would offer a high security area for serious offenders, as well as a residential part.

He added: "A number of kids with high risk behaviour problems we have had to send abroad because we do not have the facilities in Bermuda to facilitate them. There are about eight away at the moment.

"There are some very severe issues of behaviour with these kids and for Mrs Cooper to say keep them in residential homes is not the answer.

"The Youth Pathways Village is by no means going to be a prison, but it will offer greater security than we have now to cater for both more serious offenders and those who are at risk.

"It will include counselling and treatment facilities, as well as education, and it will cater for all ages.'' Government has allocated $4.2 million from the budget this year so construction work can begin on the new centre, which will be built on the same site as the Observatory Cottage in Devonshire.

Bascome, Cooper agree to work together on juvenile centre It will house 48 boys and girls and is set to open in two or three years' time.

Last night, Mrs Cooper said she had discussed the centre further with Mr.

Bascome and felt they both had the children's best interests at heart.

And she said they had both agreed to work together to make the centre the best it could possibly be.

She added: "I feel good about the discussion we had. We both have the best interests of the children at heart. I really believe that. And he certainly seems willing to work with us in order to achieve the best results.

"I think the counselling and treatment of the children are uppermost in his mind, but we would like to see that in place now at some of the other centres we already have in place, before spending the money building another one.

"We will discuss it further and I am confident we will be able to make what ever is best for the children.''