PASSAGEWAY WILL CLOSE HOMES AFTER BOY'S KILLING.

Byline: Lee Condon and Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writers

The administrator of the group home that housed Rodney Haynes Jr. on the night he was killed said Friday he will close its five branches permanently.

His decision came after Los Angeles County officials announced they will pull all children in their custody from the homes.

The Department of Probation said Passageway failed to give clear answers during an investigation into the death of the 12-year-old, who was killed and tossed in a trash bin last week. Two housemates, ages 16 and 17, have been arrested in the crime.

Twenty-one wards of the probation department were removed Friday.

``We put Passageway on `do not use' status.

``There were questions that came up during the investigation that we could not resolve,'' said Craig Levy, a spokesman for the department.

Passageway Administrator Andrew Juels said he's a scapegoat and blamed the department for Rodney's death for reasons including that his contract with the county didn't allow him to afford enough supervision.

Juels said the county denied his request to charge more money per child so an awake adult could be stationed at each site.

``That was a money-saving decision,'' Juels said.

``The kids got out, and it cost one of their lives.''

Levy declined to comment on Juels' complaints because the death remains under investigation.

Juels said the county removed 21 juveniles under its custody, and four there from Ventura County will be reassigned because he has decided to close the homes.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who earlier this week called for a ``top-to-bottom'' review of probation juvenile group-home practices, said he supports the probation department's decision to remove the children.

``Obviously, this is a drastic action but it needs to be taken,'' Yaroslavsky said.

Yaroslavsky said investigators found, among other things, that Passageway did not have enough administrators and key documents were missing. They detailed whether staff members had criminal histories.