Disability Rights Center reports more potential abuse at Sununu Youth Services Center

The Disability Rights Center-NH has announced that it too has found evidence of potential abuse occurring at the Sununu Youth Services Center, formerly known as the Youth Detention Center or YDC, in Manchester — just weeks after the Office of the Child Advocate independently released its own findings of potential abuse and neglect.

In a letter to Gov. Kelly Ayotte and Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Weaver, the Disability Rights Center said it has learned that staff at the facility have implemented a new policy involving illegal restraints. The policy reportedly instructs facility staff to physically guide children by hand around the facility. If the child refuses to be guided, staff are reportedly instructed to escalate to using a more severe method, such as a prone restraint. Prone restraints, which involve forcing somebody to the ground with their belly facing downward, can sometimes suffocate or even kill a child if done aggressively, according to social work and child welfare experts. Severe restraints can also have lasting psychological and traumatic impacts, many experts say.