Office of the Child Advocate increasing oversight of youth detention center amid recent concerns of ‘illegal practices’
By Ricky Podgorski
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MANCHESTER, N.H. (WMUR) — The New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate announced on Thursday it is increasing its oversight of the Sununu Youth Services Center following its investigation into recent “illegal practices” and reports of “abuse and neglect” at the Manchester facility.
OCA officials said they are now spending time weekly at the center, which was previously known as the Youth Development Center. The facility is home to “detained and committed” children aged 13-17.
The OCA first received a call from a child who lives at the facility on March 9, and since then, they have investigated the complaints, which included a lengthy lockdown at the facility that restricted the children’s movements and no outdoor time.
Officials said they received an additional complaint about an alleged improper use of a physical restraint, which led to the injury of a child last month. The OCA’s report said the child was held down in an “illegal prone position” for more than three minutes, and documentation shows a delay in medical care for the child, who suffered a broken bone.
OCA officials said they will continue to meet with leaders with the Division of Children, Youth and Families and SYSC director Joshua Nye to address the OCA’s concerns and how the facility will be run moving forward.
“We want to make sure that we really take the time to be very thorough, review footage, you know conduct interviews, go back and meet with children and staff again,” State Child Advocate Cassandra Sanchez said.
Jake Leon, a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, released a statement about the OCA’s report:
“We take seriously our responsibility to provide for the health and safety of the youths at SYSC and examine all allegations of abuse or neglect. We are thoroughly reviewing the allegations raised by the OCA to identify next steps. Once the review is complete, we will provide a response to the OCA that addresses her concerns.”
Along with at least once a week visits to the facility, the OCA is frequently meeting with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to ensure child safety.
“We are really very heavily focused on this issue and ensuring that the facility returns to a state where the children are receiving the dignified care they should be,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez adding that she’s grateful the situation is being addressed in a swift manner.
“It’s essential to recognize that in the process and attend to the issues very quickly because traumatizing children who have already been traumatized then can result in bad outcomes,” Sanchez said. “One of the things that I worried about seeing where things were is that are we then going to see more aggression and more problems in this program before things settle down?”
The Attorney General’s Office released a statement about the report:
“The New Hampshire Department of Justice takes the concerns raised by the Child Advocate very seriously. The safety and well-being of children in state custody is of paramount importance. The Department of Justice has been working with the Child Advocate, the DHHS, and members of the Oversight Commission to ensure that all parties involved cooperate in an effort to thoroughly review these concerns and address any violations of law or applicable policies.”
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