Concord, N.H. — Today, Representative Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) called on United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire Erin Creegan and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to open a federal investigation into conditions at the John H. Sununu Youth Services Center, the state-run juvenile facility formerly known as the Youth Development Center. In recent months, the Center has been a focal point in one of the largest child-abuse scandals in the country.

In the letter, Goodlander requested a review of the facility under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act to determine whether a pattern or practice at the facility has deprived children in state custody of their constitutional or federal rights. The law authorizes the Justice Department to investigate systemic violations of children’s rights in state-run juvenile facilities and seek relief when federal rights have been violated. 

The full text of the letter is available HERE.

“When our state takes custody of a child, it takes on a solemn duty — to keep that child safe and to safeguard their most basic rights,” said Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander. “New Hampshire’s own independent watchdogs have documented serious and ongoing concerns at the Sununu Center. Every child in the State’s care, and every survivor who has come forward, deserves the truth and accountability. Now. An independent federal investigation is a critical step to delivering on both.”

The request follows a series of investigations and reports raising concerns about conditions at the state-run facility. Since 2020, roughly 1,300 people have come forward alleging physical, sexual, or emotional abuse as children in state juvenile custody, in conduct spanning approximately six decades. Survivors have filed nearly 1,200 lawsuits; at least three former staff have been convicted, with additional prosecutions pending; a jury returned a $38 million verdict in the first case to reach trial; and the State established a settlement fund that had allocated $185 million by the end of 2025.

Two independent watchdogs — the New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate and the Disability Rights Center–New Hampshire — have documented serious concerns about current conditions, including unlawful restraint, prolonged isolation, and delayed medical care. The Disability Rights Center opened a formal investigation in April 2026 and has reported ongoing improper restraint, seclusion, and medical neglect. That organization has also documented unlawful force against children at the facility in 2009, in 2010, and again in 2018 — a recurrence spanning more than fifteen years and administrations of both parties.

The New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate began investigating after a child at the facility contacted the office in March. Its final report could take weeks or months to complete, according to recent reporting. 

The concerns have not abated. On July 17, 2026, a 13-year-old was hospitalized with a broken femur following an assault at the facility — ten days after the State Attorney General’s office issued a report noting operational challenges at the facility but no evidence of physical abuse by staff. The review did not include interviews with children at the facility. 

Goodlander’s letter asks the Justice Department to:

• Open a federal review of current and historical conditions, practices, and oversight at the Sununu Center and related New Hampshire juvenile facilities;

• Determine whether a pattern or practice of improper restraint, seclusion, medical neglect, or other mistreatment has violated children’s constitutional or federal rights;

• Evaluate staffing, supervision, training, and restraint-and-seclusion practices, including in light of recent violence and injuries at the facility; and

• Determine whether enforceable corrective measures, independent monitoring, public reporting, or other federal relief are warranted.

Before taking office, Goodlander served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. She was previously counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and served for eleven years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. In Congress, she has made oversight and accountability a hallmark of her work for Granite Staters — including taking on utility companies over unjust rate hikes and calling on the Public Utilities Commission to reconsider Eversource’s increase. 

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