By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD - Attorney General John Formella's review of Sununu Youth Services Center operations found no evidence of child abuse as claimed yet identified ongoing systemic problems, prompting criticism from the Disability Rights Center-NH, an original complainant.

"Overall, we conclude that SYSC is operating within legal boundaries and that claims that youth are currently being abused are unsupported. We did not identify any instances of physical or sexual abuse of youth, nor did we find any evidence of systemic abuse or lack of access to independent reporting mechanisms. We found clear evidence of youth causing several serious injuries to staff," according to the report by the Attorney General's Office released Tuesday.

Michael Todd, special projects director at the DRC-NH, said in an email response that his organization stands by its original warnings about SYSC, and said the state has failed to make the changes needed to protect the children there.

"Disability Rights Center-NH has repeatedly raised the alarm about the conditions at the Sununu Youth Services Center, since first becoming aware of them in March. DRC-NH staff are regularly on-site; interviewing children, speaking with staff members, and observing the facility's operations. DRC-NH has notified state leaders of our serious concerns for the health and safety of the children at SYSC, urging immediate corrective action and the use of trauma-informed care. Despite these warnings, the State has failed to make the changes necessary to protect the children in its care," Todd said.

"DRC-NH is reviewing the report of the Attorney General, documents, and other evidence, and conducting interviews as part of our investigation and will issue our report when our investigation has concluded. DRC-NH stands by prior statements that the children at SYSC have and continue to face substantial risk of serious harm based on the operation of SYSC.

"DRC-NH again urges Governor Ayotte and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to stabilize the facility by immediately bringing in an independent outside expert in juvenile justice and trauma-informed care, while the State seeks a permanent replacement for the SYSC Bureau Chief through the hiring process," Todd said.

"We look forward to working with DHHS and the Governor to address concerns raised by not only the Attorney General but also the Office of the Child Advocate and those found during DRC-NH's investigation," Todd said.

The Office of the Child Advocate was the first to blow the whistle in March that there was potential abuse and that prompted the governor to call for the Attorney General's investigation. Not only was the OCA reporting alleged abuse, the Disability Rights Center of New Hampshire issued its own complaints of youth treatment during the month of April.

The Attorney General's probe found there was no six-week lockdown of youths as the OCA report alleged. While education services which were halted for a time could have been "managed better" during that period, the actions were within reason, the report concluded.

It also concluded that an OCA report that a youth's hand was fractured by staff was in fact a self-inflicted injury when he punched a window. A team from the Attorney General's Office watched over 300 hours of videos and interviewed 40 staff including the new SYSC bureau chief hired in January who resigned in the spring amid the turmoil.

The report recommends that the state find a new bureau chief with trauma-informed, juvenile justice experience and that the administration should have a comprehensive review of its structural leadership, and should explore body-worn cameras for all youth-facing staff, among other suggestions.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte said in a statement after release of the report that "any allegations of abuse should be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. I thank the Attorney General for completing this comprehensive review. While the SYSC is operating within the law, there are unacceptable systemic issues that must be addressed. In addition to the ongoing operational changes being implemented at the facility, I have directed DHHS to act on the Attorney General's recommendations, including immediately addressing staffing shortages and working to implement the use of body-worn cameras. The State will work together with stakeholders to ensure the SYSC is a safe, respectful environment for both staff and youth."

Lori Weaver, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, also issued a statement on reported concerns at the Sununu Youth Services Center:

"The DOJ report found that SYSC is operating within legal boundaries, youth are not being subjected to illegal or abusive treatment, and there is no evidence of unlawful practices or systemic abuse of youth. We are committed to urgently and proactively addressing the long-standing operational challenges identified in the report. At the Governor's direction, the Department is taking immediate steps to alleviate staffing shortages and working to implement the use of body-worn cameras, and we will also conduct a comprehensive review of all facility operations including staffing and leadership. We are grateful to the staff at SYSC for their professionalism and resilience, and we thank the DOJ for the thoroughness and depth of their investigation," Weaver said.

Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, who first alerted the press to the concerns of the Office of the Child Advocate said: "today's report from the Attorney General reinforces what has become increasingly clear: the Sununu Youth Services Center is facing a serious staffing and operational crisis. While the Office of the Child Advocate, the Disability Rights Center, and the Attorney General differ on some findings, all investigations point to the need for stronger staffing and leadership at the facility.

"Two weeks ago, I was the only Executive Councilor to vote against tabling a temporary staffing contract at SYSC. Since then, staffing shortages have worsened to the point that New Hampshire State Police are now providing backup at the facility. Children in state custody and the staff who care for them deserve a safe environment. I urge the Executive Council to reconsider this staffing contract without further delay," Liot Hill said.

The five-member Executive Council meets on Wednesday in Manchester for a regularly scheduled meeting but on the summer tour of districts, and this meeting is being hosted by Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester. The report is likely to be a topic of discussion.

The report details serious physical incidents in which staff were injured, and their subsequent leave adding to the staffing needs and staff morale plummeting.

"We conclude that a lack of accountability for both youth and, to a lesser extent, staff severely hinders safe and effective operations at SYSC. Virtually all staff we interviewed described that there is little to no accountability for youth. This is regardless of whether it is name-calling and bullying each other, threats of physical and sexual assault against staff or assaults and other crimes that would typically result in criminal charges," the report says.

Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, noted that the report shows that communication among staff and between the youths is an issue.

It states that clinical staff at SYSC, with one exception, do not respond to codes because they want to maintain positive relationships with the youths and do not want them to view them as the "bad guy" if they have to restrain a youth for safety.

"Many staff responded that the one clinician responding to codes has been helpful for them and has had positive result. But the other clinicians will not respond to youth in serious mental or behavioral crises until they have returned to baseline."

Nixon Peabody partner Mark Knights, whose firm represents many victims who were physically and sexually abused over a five decade period at YDC by state employees, said:

"The Attorney General's office is inherently conflicted with its competing obligations to investigate and prosecute abuse at YDC while defending the state from survivors seeking justice for horrific sexual and physical abuse they suffered as children in the state's custody. Their unilateral power to veto YDC settlement awards represents yet another layer of conflict. History shows that every time an independent source has documented abuse at the facility, the AG's office's response has been to downplay the seriousness of that abuse and stymie any real investigation into the harm.

"The report is deeply flawed. As an example, investigators did not even speak with any residents directly - only SYSC staff and DCYF administrators, who are of course incentivized to cover their flaws and deny the allegations. This failure to even interview the residents who are affected by the abuse is a gross violation of national standards of investigations in youth facilities. Perhaps more importantly, it is a violation of the SYSC's own policies requiring such interviews, policies that go back to at least 1994. The failure to follow the State's own policy is part of how the AG has whitewashed the results. This whitewashing is part of a long and predictable pattern of protecting the State and its poor record over the safety and well-being of children.

"The only path to real change is for the legislature to authorize an independent investigator - someone outside the AG's office, free from conflict or political pressure - with authority to investigate what happened. Only then will the public and victims be able to trust the results," Knights said.

YDC abuse survivor David Meehan, who was awarded $38 million by a jury, which the state is still fighting, for the abuse he suffered as a child at YDC, said:

"The children still at SYSC do not need another report that reclassifies their injuries as self-inflicted. They need the truth. They need body-worn cameras implemented immediately. They need a clear, enforced protocol for youth assaults on staff. They need the independent outside expert in juvenile justice and trauma-informed care that Disability Rights Center-New Hampshire demanded. And they need oversight independent enough to challenge the official record when the evidence requires it. I have carried this fight because I know what it costs when the state writes its own version of events into the permanent record and expects children and survivors to live inside it. That practice must end.

"New Hampshire can continue producing reports that minimize harm while admitting dysfunction, or it can finally choose accountability that does not rewrite the injuries of children in state custody. The difference is whether we keep accepting a record that says the child did it to himself," Meehan said.

Reporter Nancy West contributed to this report.