The New Hampshire House of Representatives agreed to build a 12-bed hospital on Thursday.
In response to objections from those who care about kids, the New Hampshire House voted on Thursday to kill a bill that would have cut the number of kids in jail at the state’s renowned adolescent detention center.
With 144 beds and a daily cost to the state of $13 million, the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester has been a topic of a dispute as lawmakers have gotten closer to finding a successor. For years, the facility has been accused of violent sexual assaults, and these accusations have finally ignited a heated discussion about whether or not to shut the facility.
After missing their deadline to close the facility in March 2023, lawmakers just gave money to help find a place for a new, much smaller facility. This is a simple remedy, but it doesn’t solve many of the problems at the root.
On Thursday, the state House passed a bill that would pay about $22 million for the design and construction of a 12-bed facility that can hold up to 18 people. The main source of money would be COVID-19 relief payments from the federal government, which would help the budget. This statute, which will shortly be looked at by the state Senate, sets out the first clinical and safety rules for the new hospital, with a focus on treating children in a way that takes into account their past trauma.
Even while the policy has a lot of support, some legislators are worried that it falls short in important areas. Rep. Marjorie Smith (D-Durham) was worried that this would set a terrible example for how the agency works with kids and teens.
To restate what she said, the fact that “nothing stops us from doing the same things we’ve been doing for years and failing”—things that have led to accusations of abuse against more than a thousand children—is justification enough to keep doing them.
Smith pushed for an amendment that was not passed that would have stopped current or former correctional officials from running the institution. Also, kids under 18 who had done fewer than three little offenses would not have been placed there. Proponents suggested it will lower the number of young people who are locked up, while opponents raised worries about unintended consequences.
The way the law is set up now, young offenders can be locked up temporarily while less restricted housing options, including foster care, are looked at. Child rights activists are worried that the necessity for three previous convictions might prompt authorities to make up charges to put someone in jail for even a short time.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Republican Rep. Jess Edwards of Auburn, who is sponsoring the financing bill, said that making it difficult to put someone in the new trauma-informed, therapeutic facility will cause the police and courts to raise charges.
Edwards has the support of people who work for children’s rights in the state’s executive branch.
Cassandra Sanchez, the state’s child advocate, says that “experts agree that individualized, trauma-informed care given in a treatment facility will not only help youth more effectively but will also lower the number of repeat offenses and costs in the long run.”
Legislators have spoken about putting the new building in Manchester, Concord, or Hampstead, but they haven’t made a final choice yet. The state of Maryland wants to turn the old Hampstead Hospital into a place where young people may live and get mental health care by 2021.