ALBUQUERQUE, NM - The state Children, Youth and Families Department plans to transfer 30 young men from the New Mexico Boys' School in Springer to detention centers in San Juan and Santa Fe counties, but some juvenile justice experts say that's a bad idea.

The state says it will move the young men before the end of the year, when the Boys' School in Springer will close, CYFD Secretary Dorian Dodson said.

Former CYFD Secretary Mary-Dale Bolson's administration announced last year that the 211-bed Boys' School would shut down. The state plans to turn it into a minimum-security prison for adults.

The U.S. Department of Justice and other organizations involved in juvenile justice are opposed to housing convicted juveniles in county detention centers, saying the lockups lack the space and programming that older, more serious offenders need.

"We made it known to the prior secretary in not-soft terms that, while we applaud the closing of Springer, short-term facilities are not the appropriate place to house them," said Bart Loubow, director of juvenile justice reform for the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Even though she expects the counties to do a good job, Dodson said she's listening to the concerns.

"It's very healthy to have this dialogue," she said. "If it's not in the best interest of the kids, it won't continue."

Dodson said both counties' centers meet space requirements for recreation and will be able to separate state juveniles who are serving sentences from county teens awaiting court dates.

Tom Swisstack, who runs the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Facility, declined to house state teens. He said the two groups of juvenile offenders are very different and have different needs.

The average youth in the county facility is 15 years old and incarcerated for about 13 days. State youths are usually older, have often been convicted of serious crimes and may have to stay for several years, he said.

"We do not have staff trained for 18- to 21-year-olds or good, solid programs for long-term kids," he said. "And I couldn't guarantee to keep the population separate. I was concerned about liability."

The Farmington Juvenile Services Facility is preparing to take 10 of the Springer inmates, most of whom are from the San Juan region.

Facility manager Traci Sutherland said that being incarcerated in the area they will eventually be released to is an advantage.