Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Politics

New Hampshire House passes bill to replace embattled youth detention center

by March 24, 2023
March 24, 2023
New Hampshire House passes bill to replace embattled youth detention center

The New Hampshire House rejected a measure aimed at sending fewer children to the state’s troubled youth detention center Thursday after child advocates argued it would have had the opposite effect.

The disagreement arose as lawmakers inch closer to replacing the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester, a 144-bed facility that costs the state $13 million per year while typically housing fewer than a dozen teens daily. Debate about closing the center began years ago, but came to a boil amid horrific sexual abuse allegations stretching back decades.

After failing to meet their own March 2023 deadline to shut it down, lawmakers recently allocated money to select a site for a new, much smaller facility but the stopgap measure left many details unresolved.

Hoping to move forward, the state House passed a bill Thursday that would fund a 12-bed facility, with room for up to 18, and allocating roughly $22 million for design and construction, with as much money as possible coming from federal COVID-19 relief aid. The bill, which now goes to the state Senate, also begins outlining clinical and safety guidelines for the new facility, including a focus on therapeutic and trauma-informed care of children.

While there is broad agreement on such an approach, some lawmakers said the bill falls short. Rep. Marjorie Smith, a Democrat from Durham, said it might replicate the same mismanagement and harm to juveniles in its care.

‘There’s nothing that says we won’t be doing the same things we’ve been doing for years and failing — the same things that caused more than 1,000 children to allege physical and sexual abuse,’ she said.

Smith supported a failed amendment to the bill that would have required future leaders of the center to be experts in helping children with special needs, not corrections officers. It also would have prevented children from being sent to the facility if they had fewer than three prior convictions for low-level crimes. Supporters said that would prevent unnecessary incarceration of youth, but opponents said it would have unintended consequences.

Under current law, officials sometimes briefly detain children who commit low-level crimes to remove them from dangerous homes while they arrange a place for them to stay, such as a foster home. Child advocates opposed the amendment to require three prior convictions, arguing that it would incentivize law enforcement to bring more charges so that they could obtain a brief detention.

‘If you make it harder to put somebody in this new trauma-informed, therapeutic center, what will happen is you’re encouraging law enforcement and judges to escalate charges,’ said Republican Rep. Jess Edwards, of Auburn, sponsor of the funding measure, at a news conference Wednesday.

A coalition of state officials who work with children agreed with Edwards.

‘The experts agree that individualized, trauma-informed care administered within a treatment facility will not only support youth more effectively but will reduce recidivism rates and future costs,’ said Cassandra Sanchez, the state’s Child Advocate.

Lawmakers haven’t decided where to build the new facility but have mentioned Manchester, Concord or Hampstead as possibilities. In 2021, the state purchased Hampstead Hospital with the goal of transforming it into a residential and psychiatric treatment hospital for children and young adults.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
US secures deal with Canada to return illegal migrants crossing northern border
next post
In New Hampshire, abortion activists score win as proposed restrictions fail in state House

You may also like

THE KILLER LIED: North Dakota Police Find NO...

September 26, 2022

Former GOP governor punks reporters, walks out of...

January 9, 2023

Furious Chinese Fans ‘Whitewash’ “The Little Mermaid” –...

September 21, 2022

Secret Service failures during Trump rally spur concerns...

July 24, 2024

Senate approves $95B aid package for Ukraine and...

April 24, 2024

Sen. Cotton wants to crack down on cybersecurity...

January 26, 2024

Chuck Schumer: Midterms a “Vindication” for Democrats’ Agenda...

November 13, 2022

GOP rebel mutiny threatens to derail Trump’s ‘big,...

May 15, 2025

Here are the greatest Inauguration Day moments in...

January 18, 2025

Democrats propose bill to prevent Trump from relocating...

April 5, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Rescissions: A Small but Welcome Step Toward Spending Discipline

      June 5, 2025
    • DAVID MARCUS: Why Navy ships should not be named for gay rights icons

      June 5, 2025
    • GREGG JARRETT: Biden, the ‘marionette president; and the case of the runaway autopen

      June 5, 2025
    • Trump Practically Bans Travel and Immigration from 12 Countries with Flimsy Security Justifications

      June 5, 2025
    • ‘He’s not a big factor’: Trump’s Senate allies dismiss Elon Musk’s calls to ‘kill the bill’

      June 5, 2025
    • Fears grow that Tata Steel could be excluded from Starmer-Trump trade deal

      June 5, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,147)
    • Investing (2,008)
    • Politics (15,523)
    • Stocks (3,127)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved