If YDC is sold, lawmakers want to send the money back to the state — not victims

Some lawmakers said the money should fund settlements for people who were abused at the facility. Others sought to tighten those payouts.

A bill headed to Gov. Kelly Ayotte would send money generated by the sale of the state’s youth detention facility to the state general fund.

The state faces thousands of abuse claims from former residents at the former Youth Development Center. The legislature created the YDC Settlement Fund in 2023 to pay out those claims, and since then, around $240 million have been paid to 425 victims.

New Hampshire has been trying to sell the Sununu Youth Services Center property. Lawmakers say the bill would clear up confusion from last year’s budget, which said proceeds from the sale would go to both the general fund and the YDC Settlement Fund.

Some lawmakers, like Democrat Mary Jane Wallner, thought the money from the sale should go to victims.

“It only makes sense that any funds received from the sale of the facility should go to the settlement fund,” she said during the House session last week.

But Republicans disagreed. Rep. Ken Weyler said the state needs to find ways to limit payouts to victims.

“There is no end in sight, because of all the lies that have been told on this,” he said.

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Republicans, including Ayotte, have pushed to tighten control over the victim settlement process. The state budget adopted last year gave the Attorney General veto power over settlement deals.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s office is currently investigating allegations of abuse and neglect at the youth detention center that were first reported by the Office of the Child Advocate in March.

A legislative oversight committee found the leadership at the Sununu Youth Services Center and the state’s Division for Children, Youth, and Families failed children and staff inside the detention center, and recommended, among other measures, increasing the budget and oversight capabilities of the Office of the Child Advocate.

— Staff report, NHPR

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NHPR's Josh Rogers contributed reporting to this story.

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