The Executive Council approved a $20 million request Wednesday to continue settling lawsuits with people abused at the state’s former youth detention center.
Retired Judge Gerard Boyle, the administrator of Youth Development Center Settlement Fund, has said it could cost the state $1 billion to settle the nearly 1,700 pending claims. Lawmakers approved the same request in June but Boyle also needed approval from the Executive Council.
Boyle told councilors he is reducing the fund’s administrative costs. Two of the fund’s consultants are currently being paid $200 an hour under an agreement reached by Boyle’s predecessor, former Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick. They also receive a $100 hourly travel stipend and in some cases, reimbursement for mileage.
The consultants help interview survivors in a trauma-informed manner as required by law.
Boyle said he will ask them to stay on when their contracts expire in December for more than a 50% pay cut. He intends to eliminate their $100 hourly travel stipend and only reimburse for mileage.
