The state has issued a request for information to assess operations at the troubled Sununu Youth Services Center raising questions about why it hasn’t acted on changes some advocates say need to be made immediately instead.
The state Department of Health and Human Services has issued a Request for Information on conducting a comprehensive assessment of the Sununu Youth Services Center’s operations and recommendations for improvement, according to a news release Monday.
“DHHS seeks input from organizations with a track record in evaluating residential treatment and secure youth facilities as well as juvenile justice and trauma-informed care programs,” the release said.
This comes after Attorney General John Formella issued a report last week on his investigation into allegations of abuse made by the state Office of Child Advocate and the Disability Rights Center-NH, which both have expressed concern for the safety of the children ages 13 to 18 incarcerated there.
New Hampshire’s Child Advocate Cassandra Sanchez wondered why DHHS would be looking for further assessments of SYSC when they’ve ignored a number of recommendations that should be implemented as soon as possible. “That’s not clear to me.
“I’d rather see our state funds going to immediate action to take steps for the facility like seeking out training for staff,” Sanchez said. Her office was first in late March to raise new abuse allegations at what was formerly called the Youth Development Center (YDC) in Manchester. Those mainly focused on “lock downs,” restraints, one in which a child’s finger was allegedly broken, and disruptions in education and scheduling.
“I am still very concerned for the safety of children at the facility,” Sanchez said, pointing to continued understaffing and lack of staff training.
As to the Request for Information, Michael Todd, special projects director at the DRC–NH, said: “DRC-NH has recommended that Governor Ayotte and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) immediately bring in an independent outside expert in juvenile justice and trauma-informed care to stabilize the Sununu Youth Services Center (SYSC).
“DRC-NH supports appropriate steps taken by the State to that end and looks forward to working with DHHS and the Governor to address concerns discovered during DRC-NH’s ongoing investigation.”
Attorney General Formella’s investigation into recent operations at the Sununu Youth Services Center did not find child abuse as alleged but concluded systemic problems exist.
“Overall, we conclude that SYSC is operating within legal boundaries and that claims that youth are currently being abused are unsupported. We did not identify any instances of physical or sexual abuse of youth, nor did we find any evidence of systemic abuse or lack of access to independent reporting mechanisms. We found clear evidence of youth causing several serious
injuries to staff,” according to the report.
“We further find that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the youth who reportedly had a bone in his hand broken by SYSC staff during a restraint caused the injury to his own hand by punching a window. We also find that the uses of the prone position with this youth were appropriately limited to short periods in which mechanical restraints were applied and then ended each time with a recovery position,” the report said.
YDC remains mired in the ongoing scandal as the state claims to have limited funds to pay claims to the hundreds of adults who say they were physically and sexually abused at YDC over five decades at the hands of state employees.
Sanchez said the recent investigation by her office is ongoing and already there were some new complaints since Formella’s report was made public. One involved forcing a child to remain in lockdown so long they were forced to urinate on the floor in their room.
Her office and the Disability Rights Center-NH have made recommendations with more likely to come as they are both involved in separate continuing investigations into SYSC.
Sanchez said her biggest takeaway from Formella’s report was placing the blame on the children incarcerated there when “the state is responsible” for the problems.
“There is definitely general resistance to accepting outside feedback by DHHS,” Sanchez said.
In Monday’s news release, DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver, said:
“I want to thank Governor Ayotte for her ongoing support of the staff at SYSC and DHHS and for her urgency to implement those recommendations as quickly as possible. With this RFI, the Department seeks the input of expert organizations to strengthen services for youth that require trauma-informed, secure treatment care to support their development and reduce the need for future involvement with the criminal justice system…”
“While New Hampshire has one of the nation’s lowest rates of juvenile incarceration thanks to our focus on earlier intervention and prevention strategies, we recognize the need for changes at the SYSC and welcome the opportunity to improve operations and culture for the benefit of both youth and staff,” Weaver wrote.