State juvenile justice system must be fixed.

Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice defines its mission as “reducing juvenile delinquency through effective prevention, intervention and treatment services that strengthen families and turn around the lives of troubled youth.” But a two-year investigation by the Miami Herald, whose shocking findings were published by the newspaper this week in a six-part series, raises serious doubts about whether DJJ is fulfilling its mission — especially the part about turning around young lives.

The series drew quick notice from a key legislator, who vowed to dig further into its findings and pursue reforms. It deserves the same level of attention and commitment to action from the agency and Gov. Rick Scott, not just for the sake of the juvenile detainees and their families but for every Floridian who counts on DJJ to advance public safety. Meeting that goal depends on successfully rehabilitating as many young offenders as possible.

The series, called Fight Club, spotlighted appalling abuses in the juvenile justice system in facilities around the state. Herald reporters found that some staff in those facilities, to impose discipline or simply entertain themselves, organized fights between detained teens. Staff bribed them with food or other rewards to attack each other; sometimes staff even bet on the outcome. The clashes could be brutal; at least one teen died.

The Herald also uncovered hundreds of accusations over the past decade of physical and sexual abuse of teens by staff, who had not been routinely subjected to thorough background checks before being hired. Reporters found hundreds of staff working in juvenile facilities had been fired for wrongdoing in previous jobs in adult prisons or jails. Medical care was substandard, and sometimes withheld from teens accused of faking their ailments.

The Herald series cited low pay for staff as a primary factor behind chronic problems in the state’s juvenile justice system. DJJ employees start out making less than $26,000 a year. But private operators, who run all of the agency’s residential facilities, often pay even less than the state.

DJJ responded indignantly to the Herald’s series, arguing it “blatantly neglects to recognize DJJ’s years of aggressive, innovative reform efforts and nationally recognized success serving Florida’s youth and communities.” Successes cited by the agency include Florida’s juvenile arrest rate falling to a 40-year low, the residential detention rate for teens considered “low-moderate risk” plummeting by 60 percent, and the recidivism rate for teens on probation reaching an all-time low.

These are indeed accomplishments, but they don’t excuse the abuses uncovered by the Herald. And state statistics also indicate 45 percent of Florida teens released from juvenile justice residential programs in 2015 were found guilty of a new offense or pleaded guilty to one within a year.

The newspaper’s reporting already has spurred some action. After the Herald asked for personnel records, DJJ adopted a new system for conducting background checks of job candidates. And a couple of weeks ago, with publication of the newspaper’s series looming, Scott proposed a 10 percent salary hike for the state’s juvenile detention and probation officers.

This week state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who chairs his chamber’s subcommittee on spending for criminal and civil justice, said more reforms are needed at DJJ. Other subcommittee members questioned whether the Legislature made a mistake in 2011 when it privatized residential detention for juveniles. Straight answers to these and other important questions, along with reforms, are more likely if Scott and DJJ leaders acknowledge the agency’s serious problems and commit to solutions.