Goodlander calls for feds to investigate Sununu Center amid ongoing allegations

U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander waded into the ongoing controversy at the Sununu Youth Services Center this week as she called on federal prosecutors to open their own investigation into the Manchester juvenile justice facility.

The Office of the Child Advocate first raised concerns about staff being potentially abusive toward the facility’s underage detainees in a March letter to lawmakers. The Disability Rights Center-NH, the Department of Justice, and a state Senate ad hoc committee all launched parallel investigations. 

The investigations have uncovered a series of allegations, including children being denied education and access to the outdoors during an overrestrictive lockdown; illegal restraints resulting in at least one broken bone; children forced to urinate on the floor of their cells; unwarranted strip searches; and dried blood found on the building’s walls. Additionally, a child was hospitalized after a fight with another resident, investigators revealed. This all comes as staff members have struggled to manage the growing aggression of residents toward them.

Now, Goodlander, a Democrat who represents the western half of the state, is asking U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to launch its own investigation. She wrote in an open letter that the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act gives them authority to investigate and “determine whether a pattern or practice at the facility has deprived children in state custody of their constitutional or federal rights.”

The New Hampshire Department of Justice’s investigation — which was criticized by the Office of the Child Advocate for putting too much blame on the children — ended last month with a final report that concluded there were staffing issues and general leadership failures but no evidence of physical abuse against youth by facility staff. 

The state Senate committee’s final report was harsher and recommended sweeping changes, including a near-total ban on strip searches; increased staff training; restructuring of the Division for Children, Youth, and Families; more cameras in the facility; and traits to look for in new leadership. The Office of the Child Advocate and the Disability Rights Center’s investigations are ongoing, but the two watchdog agencies’ initial letters somewhat contradict the Department of Justice’s final assessment.

Goodlander, in her letter, writes that a “neutral federal assessment … is well suited to resolve the divergence between the two watchdogs’ findings and the State’s conclusions.”

Attorney General John Formella, who leads the New Hampshire Department of Justice, said in a statement: “The New Hampshire Department of Justice follows the facts, enforces the law, and pursues justice without fear or favor. The State continues to work to strengthen safety and security at the facility. The New Hampshire Department of Justice remains focused on accountability, transparency, and protecting children.”

Goodlander’s team did not respond to the Bulletin’s emailed question about whether it reached out to DHHS, which operates the facility, before releasing the letter. Creegan’s office did not respond to emailed questions.

This year’s allegations are the latest in a long history of abuse and neglect at the Sununu Youth Services Center, which was formerly known as the Youth Detention Center, or YDC, and has been involved in hundreds of lawsuits spanning decades.