CHICAGO, IL - When the school day ends at Cook County's temporary juvenile detention center, hundreds of students must leave essential education tools behind: their textbooks.

Such centers commonly prohibit the unsupervised use of hardcover books and basic school supplies like pencils out of concern the youths could use the items for violence.

Child welfare advocates, however, say the rules can create a prison-like atmosphere that discourages rehabilitation. "Any facility ought to be safe and secure enough for kids to have books," said Betsy Clarke, president of the Juvenile Justice Initiative.

This month, a judge appointed a former state corrections official to oversee changes at the detention center, stemming from a 2002 settlement of a lawsuit that claimed the facility was mismanaged.

Juvenile advocates say some of the problems cited in the lawsuit extended into the center's classrooms.

"Teachers consistently said they do not assign homework because staff do not allow the youths to bring books or even pages to come back up the unit," the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative concluded after reviewing practices at the facility in December.

Jerry Robinson, superintendent of the detention center, said the assessment was unfair because access to education tools is restricted, but not banned.

"They have the ability to get a pencil," Robinson said. "They can write letters. We just control it so (the pencil) is not kept in the room."

The detention center is home to Chicago area youths between the ages of 10 and 17 who have been accused of committing crimes ranging from theft to murder. On any given day, between 450 and 500 youths in grades 4-12 are held.

Most are adolescent males who've gotten caught up in gangs, guns and drugs. The average stay is 14 to 28 days but can last up to three months or longer.

Judith Adams, principal at the detention center's school, said her staff compensates for the limited access to textbooks by working closely with students during extracurricular study periods.

Thick textbooks can be used as weapons or to transport cigarettes or drugs, she said. Softcover books are allowed in the living units.

"We really understand why the detention center is cautious about having kids transport things," Adams said. "That's why we started the afterschool homework policy in our school, to give the kids the resources they need without having them have to carry books upstairs."

Opinions vary on what impact such restrictions may have on children who are often struggling in school or not going at all at the time of their arrest. But juvenile justice advocates widely agree that overly restrictive policies can be harmful.

"If it's a culture of regimentation, it tells the kids they are inmates. If it's a culture of support and is building on the strengths of the kids, it's a completely different atmosphere," said Mark Soler, executive director of the Center for Children's Law and Policy in Washington.

Detention officials in other big cities like New York and Los Angeles also restrict textbook use in juvenile centers.

"What they could do is stick it in their pillow case and use it as a weapon," said Larry Rubin, director of the agency that oversees incarcerated youths in Los Angeles. "You could really hit somebody pretty hard with it."

Scott Trent, spokesman for New York City's juvenile justice department, said textbooks are allowed in living units only if a counselor is present.

"Seemingly everyday items that are not manufactured with the intent to hurt someone can be used to do that by a juvenile who is thinking that way," Trent said.

The juvenile facility in suburban Chicago's DuPage County is less restricting, allowing hardcover books and pencils in rooms, and allowing youths to borrow up to three books at a time from the school's library.

"That's our major and only source of contraband: kids having too many library books in their rooms," said Bernard Glos, superintendent of the Wheaton facility.

Adams said the policies at Cook County don't appear to be preventing kids from getting excited about learning. A recent online course offered in the school's computer lab proved very popular, said Kenya Johnson, an instructor at the school.

"As a matter of fact, we have a lot of kids that come by and ask if they can miss gym and come here, which is odd," Johnson said. "They're boys."