{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://goodlander.house.gov/media/press-releases/goodlander-calls-for-federal-investigation-into-conditions-at-the-sununu-youth-services-center/", "Goodlander Calls for Federal Investigation into Conditions at the Sununu Youth Services Center", "2026-08-04", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Maggie Goodlander", "G000604", "goodlander.house.gov", "goodlander", "https://goodlander.house.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Concord, N.H. \u2014 Today, Representative Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) called on United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire Erin Creegan and the Department of Justice\u2019s Civil Rights Division to open a federal investigation into conditions at the John H. Sununu Youth Services Center, the state-run juvenile facility formerly known as the Youth Development Center. In recent months, the Center has been a focal point in one of the largest child-abuse scandals in the country.\n\nIn the letter, Goodlander requested a review of the facility under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act to determine whether a pattern or practice at the facility has deprived children in state custody of their constitutional or federal rights. The law authorizes the Justice Department to investigate systemic violations of children\u2019s rights in state-run juvenile facilities and seek relief when federal rights have been violated.\n\nThe full text of the letter is available HERE.\n\n\u201cWhen our state takes custody of a child, it takes on a solemn duty \u2014 to keep that child safe and to safeguard their most basic rights,\u201d said Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander. \u201cNew Hampshire\u2019s own independent watchdogs have documented serious and ongoing concerns at the Sununu Center. Every child in the State\u2019s care, and every survivor who has come forward, deserves the truth and accountability. Now. An independent federal investigation is a critical step to delivering on both.\u201d\n\nThe request follows a series of investigations and reports raising concerns about conditions at the state-run facility. Since 2020, roughly 1,300 people have come forward alleging physical, sexual, or emotional abuse as children in state juvenile custody, in conduct spanning approximately six decades. Survivors have filed nearly 1,200 lawsuits; at least three former staff have been convicted, with additional prosecutions pending; a jury returned a $38 million verdict in the first case to reach trial; and the State established a settlement fund that had allocated $185 million by the end of 2025.\n\nTwo independent watchdogs \u2014 the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate and the Disability Rights Center\u2013New Hampshire \u2014 have documented serious concerns about current conditions, including unlawful restraint, prolonged isolation, and delayed medical care. The Disability Rights Center opened a formal investigation in April 2026 and has reported ongoing improper restraint, seclusion, and medical neglect. That organization has also documented unlawful force against children at the facility in 2009, in 2010, and again in 2018 \u2014 a recurrence spanning more than fifteen years and administrations of both parties.\n\nThe New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate began investigating after a child at the facility contacted the office in March. Its final report could take weeks or months to complete, according to recent reporting.\n\nThe concerns have not abated. On July 17, 2026, a 13-year-old was hospitalized with a broken femur following an assault at the facility \u2014 ten days after the State Attorney General\u2019s office issued a report noting operational challenges at the facility but no evidence of physical abuse by staff. The review did not include interviews with children at the facility.\n\nGoodlander\u2019s letter asks the Justice Department to:\n\nOpen a federal review of current and historical conditions, practices, and oversight at the Sununu Center and related New Hampshire juvenile facilities;\n\nDetermine whether a pattern or practice of improper restraint, seclusion, medical neglect, or other mistreatment has violated children\u2019s constitutional or federal rights;\n\nEvaluate staffing, supervision, training, and restraint-and-seclusion practices, including in light of recent violence and injuries at the facility; and\n\nDetermine whether enforceable corrective measures, independent monitoring, public reporting, or other federal relief are warranted.\n\nBefore taking office, Goodlander served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. She was previously counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and served for eleven years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. In Congress, she has made oversight and accountability a hallmark of her work for Granite Staters \u2014 including taking on utility companies over unjust rate hikes and calling on the Public Utilities Commission to reconsider Eversource\u2019s increase.", 1, "2026-08-05T07:37:37Z", "2026-08-05T07:38:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://goodlander.house.gov/media/press-releases/goodlander-calls-for-federal-investigation-into-conditions-at-the-sununu-youth-services-center/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.785270007327199, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}