New Hampshire Senate President Sharon Carson is calling for a financial and performance audit of the settlement fund for abuse victims at the state's youth detention center.
“The financial condition of the YDC fund has sparked deep concern regarding the processes employed to resolve cases and called into doubt whether victims are getting the resources they need,” Carson said in a statement Friday.
Carson’s push for the audit comes as victims of abuse have until June 30 to file claims.
It also followed a vote by top lawmakers Friday to table a request by the YDC fund’s administrator, former Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick, to add $10 million to the fund.
The legislature created the settlement fund in 2022, on the advice of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella. At the time, the fund was seen as a way to help victims while also protecting the state from thousands of potential lawsuits stemming from what has been revealed to be among the biggest youth detention abuse scandals in American history.
Related: The Youth Development Center, an investigative podcast series hosted by Jason Moon that examines how the abuse scandal happened, and how it came to light
To date, the fund has paid out $156 million to around 300 abuse survivors. But hundreds of claims remain outstanding, and Formella has complained recently about how settlements have been paid out.
Survivors call for more state funding
Nearly 30 people whose claims are pending called on lawmakers this week to fully fund the settlement, some saying failing to do so amounts to more abuse from the state. The law firm representing them, Shaheen and Gordon, released the statements ahead of the committee’s meeting Friday.
“It’s another kick in the face,” Joshua Kuhn wrote. “When I was 15-16 years old at YDC, I felt violated like crazy. Now it’s just more violation from the same people who violated me before. They don’t care.”
Several said a settlement is the only justice they will get.
“Everybody should be entitled to equality and equal justice under the law,” wrote Kirk Taylor. “I didn’t get justice with my abuser. He was never criminally charged. He was declared incompetent. He gets to die peacefully at home with his family, but I will never get the justice I deserve.”
One person said they chose a settlement over a lawsuit because it allowed them to remain anonymous.
“I wanted to do different things in life that would have been messed up by this being in the news,” the person wrote. “I was afraid how people would look at me. I would not have come forward if it were not for the settlement fund.”
Several warned lawmakers that retreating from fully supporting the settlement fund would lead to lawsuits that would cost the state even more. A jury awarded one victim $38 million in May, which the state is appealing. Another person settled his lawsuit for $10 million in March but won’t get paid if lawmakers don’t include the money in the budget.
The settlement fund caps awards at $2.5 million, but nearly all have settled for much less, according to Broderick’s latest report.
As of March, nearly 179 of the 296 claims settled for less than $500,000. The report said 115 settled for between $500,000 and $1.5 million. Only two were higher than that.
Most of the newest claims began as lawsuits, Broderick told lawmakers.
“While no amount of compensation could ever undo what happened, I believe some form of restitution or accountability is a small price to pay for a lifetime of suffering,” wrote Robert Hensley, who said he was raped repeatedly while at YDC. He is now in his 70s.
Another person who submitted a statement anonymously warned he will sue if there is no money for a settlement.
“I am a tax payer in this state and it makes no sense to me why the State would instead force us to get even bigger verdicts in court. But if that is what they force me to do then that is what I will do. I’m not going away.”
