Disability Rights Center investigation into NH disability system still ongoing

The Disability Rights Center-NH’s investigation into deaths in New Hampshire’s disability care system is still ongoing, DRC officials said.

The investigation was launched in November and the DRC tentatively hoped to have a report released this summer. However, Deodonne Bhattarai, a DRC spokesperson, said the agency’s current goal is to complete the investigation by the end of the year.

The DRC review was launched after a series of Bulletin articles detailing patterns of abuse and neglect in New Hampshire’s state-regulated network of disability care providers. The Bulletin found hundreds of credible reports of abuse and neglect and told the stories of five people victimized by taxpayer-funded caregivers. Two of those victims died as a result of the incidents. The DRC said at the time that the Bulletin’s reporting served as “probable cause” for the investigation.

The DRC is reviewing records for hundreds of individuals, Bhattarai said. Once it completes its review, the DRC intends to share its findings and concerns directly with the agencies that make up the care network and state officials overseeing the system before releasing a report to the public.

“We hope that this will lead to discussions aimed at improving the system,” Bhattarai wrote in an email.

The DRC will also be involved in a newly formed Disability Oversight Commission. Following the Bulletin’s reporting, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 670, which created the commission, among other measures. The commission is set to meet soon and was designed to review the performance of the system and make recommendations on how to keep people with disabilities safe. Bhattarai said the DRC’s participation in this commission may impact the timeline and approach of their investigation.

The DRC is also involved in a separate and unrelated investigation into the Sununu Youth Services Center. The DRC, in collaboration with the Office of the Child Advocate and others, has raised alarms about potential abuse and neglect at the Manchester juvenile justice facility.