People who were physically and sexually abused as children at New Hampshire's state-run Youth Development Center will soon be able to file their claims for part of the $100 settlement fund, the state attorney general's office announced Tuesday.
Notices have begun going out to former residents of the Manchester facility, now called the Sununu Youth Services Center after former Gov. John H. Sununu, and other state facilities, that they can start filing claims for compensation for abuse they suffered there beginning Jan. 1 through the end of the following year.
The Sununu Youth Services Center has been the target of a broad criminal investigation since 2019. Ten of its former workers and an 11th who worked at a Concord detention facility were arrested in , and nearly 450 former residents have sued the state based on allegations involving more than 150 staffers from 1963 to 2018.
“This new law creates a claims resolution process that provides a trauma informed and victim centered alternative to traditional litigation,” Attorney General John Formella said in a news release in May, when the fund was signed into law. “No victim is required to use this process, but it is my hope that this bill will provide an avenue for much needed healing and compensation for many of these victims.”
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Under the terms of the $100 million settlement fund, individual payments for sexual abuse will be capped at $1.5 million, while payments for physical abuse will be capped at $150,000.
Anyone with questions about the settlement fund can visit the dedicated website or call 603-415-2136.
