High Court involvement in the details of arrangements for young people at Ballydowd secure residential unit in Dublin is causing "frustration and delay", according to the Irish Social Services Inspectorate.
In a report to be published shortly the inspectorate praises staff and management at Ballydowd, which is run by the South Western Area Health Board.
There is a good staff team, good management practices are apparent and young people speak positively of staff, teachers and managers, it says.
However, there is "an unhelpful inflexibility in the current arrangements whereby decisions, such as whether a young person can have an outing away from the unit, are being made by the High Court."
Some of these matters, it says, could be best left to the discretion of the professionals. An attempt to get a part-time job for one of the young people as part of their reintegration into the community was hampered by the need to get court approval, it says.
"It is unlikely that an employer would be willing to await the outcome of a High Court hearing before offering a job to the young person".
Mr Justice Kelly has been severely critical of the lack of suitable residential services for troubled young people. The report acknowledges that the court "also acts as a guarantor of young people's rights in ensuring that the appropriate services are made available to them."
The report is one of the most positive to come from the inspectorate, which inspects health board homes.
But it expresses concern about one girl who was "effectively locked up alone for up to 22 hours per day for a number of weeks" by staff acting out of "desperation".
However, the development of a positive relationship between her and a court-appointed guardian improved the situation so that she was no longer locked in her bedroom.
Mr Pat Donnelly, chief executive officer of the health board, welcomed the report. He said the board hoped to open the second of the three units at Ballydowd within six to eight weeks. Opening of the third unit is delayed because of difficulties in recruiting staff.