Haven't we heard this story before?

Last week, state officials were back at Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, the county's facility for offenders aged 10 to 18. This time, investigators were looking into a teen's apparent suicide attempt that was not promptly reported and another incident in which a teen was injured while being restrained.

It was on Oct. 3, a Friday evening, when a teen was found in his room with a bed sheet formed into a noose. A youth care worker calmed him down, but the occurrence wasn't reported until the following Monday even though the state requires reporting within 24 hours. And, although two days had elapsed, the youth still was threatening to hurt himself.

Days before that, a different teen hit his head while being restrained by a staff member, and a videotape raised questions about whether improper force was used to bring him under control.

These incidents sound all too familiar. In April, there was a problem after another youth suicide attempt; five staff members were assaulted in the first two months of the year; in August, a month after the state downgraded Shuman to a six-month provisional license, an employee who had been left to supervise nine boys was punched in the face; in a separate occurrence, a youth was cut over his eye while he was being restrained.

Each time there's a problem, the state Department of Public Welfare investigates, the county promises changes and the state promises more oversight.

So far, that hasn't made enough of a difference. Is there something systemically wrong with how Shuman operates? Are staff members getting proper training? Are they following those instructions? Are officials at the top paying enough attention to what's going on?

Maintaining a facility that is safe for the residents and for the employees who care for them is vital to Allegheny County. For some reason, though, that is not happening.