A lawsuit filed on behalf of juveniles awaiting trial at the New Orleans juvenile detention center has been certified as a class action by a federal judge, reports the Associated Press.

The lawsuit was filed by the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana against the head of the city's Department of Human Services and facility leaders. Teen plaintiffs, along with the JPL argue that facility leaders have allowed inhumane conditions to continue at the center. The facility has rats and mold, lacks adequate educational services and trained staff and keeps young people in their cells for at least 20 hours a day, according to the plaintiffs.

From the Associated Press:

The center, built in 1959, was inundated with 12 feet of water by the August 2005 storm, and over half of it has been closed since then. A local judge suggested the conditions could breed vermin.

"There is reason to believe they would have rodents, insects, roaches there with the majority of the building condemned," said David Bell, the chief judge of New Orleans Juvenile Court. "And those would have easy access since the only thing that separates the used section from the condemned section is a door."