Weeks after new allegations of abuse were reported at the Sununu Youth Services Center, legislators learned conditions are improving — and remarkably quickly, they thought.
Jason Taylor, the assistant child advocate, told a legislative panel on Monday that since the independent watchdog agency for child welfare alerted state lawmakers of concerns about the treatment of kids at the youth detention center in Manchester, several changes have been made.
Kids are getting more outdoor time, he said, and they are receiving more regular education. The facility also recently started using its body scanner rather than strip searches to sweep new intakes.
Concerns persist about the treatment of children there, however, after an incident over the weekend prompted a police response.
Lawmakers said it concerned them that such changes could be made so quickly but only after each of those issues were made public.
“I think that builds a lack of trust, because things shouldn’t come to us first in order for there to be change, and it does not build my confidence in the facility that things are going as intended,” said Rep. Kim Rice, a Hudson Republican. “‘Oh, we got tattled, we have to fix it.’ That’s just not the proper way to run anything.”
When the Office of the Child Advocate reported its concerns to state officials in late March, it detailed strict, prolonged lockdowns where children were barely permitted to leave their rooms, as well as insufficient educational time and outdoor access. A staff member also broke a child’s arm while holding them in an illegal restraint, according to the report.
The state-owned Sununu Youth Services Center holds kids accused of crimes and those involuntarily committed for mental health reasons. It was the site of more than 2,200 claims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse that occurred over several decades — one of the largest youth detention center scandals in U.S. history.
Construction is underway for a new facility in Hampstead — a move that legislators said should be a fresh start. But they don’t want staff to wait for a new location to change their policies and practices. State Sen. Victoria Sullivan, the Manchester Republican who chairs the subcommittee investigating the reports of abuse, said she’s worried that the facility is holding back on making meaningful changes.
“We have serious concerns that the sins of the past will fall into the sins of this new building,” Sullivan said. “The whole situation supposedly happening right now is that the new policies are being put in place so they do carry forward — so the new policy carries forward and not the old behaviors and old habits.”
Concerns continue
Another incident occurred at the youth detention center on Sunday night. Taylor said the Office of the Child Advocate was still trying to track down the details on Monday morning, but he noted a police response at the facility, which is uncommon.
“We are gathering information at this point, but we did hear that some things erupted last night,” Taylor said. He did not say whether anyone had been harmed.
Taylor said he has noticed a “power struggle” between the children and staff in recent weeks. With the increased presence of the child advocates, the kids now have more legal information about what staff members can and cannot do.
“I think some of the children are a bit empowered by our presence and have been educated on, ‘Hey, you’re not supposed to do this,'” Taylor said, “so I think that it is a little tense in some ways.”
The attorney general’s office, which is also investigating the recent reports, said last month that there was no active or ongoing abuse occurring at the facility.
The legislative committee, formed by the Senate President last month, is set to meet again next week, then present its findings to the Oversight Commission on Children’s Services on May 15.
