ICYMI: Rep. Christine Siebert: ‘So Much for Public Safety, Kelly’

ICYMI: Rep. Christine Siebert: ‘So Much for Public Safety, Kelly’
 

In Case You Missed It, Representative Christine Siebert wrote an op-ed for Manchester InkLink blasting Kelly Ayotte for the horrifying allegations that continue to surface about the alleged abuse happening to children and law enforcement officers inside the Sununu Youth Services Center (SYSC). 

Rep. Siebert spotlighted the “deeply troubling pattern” of alleged abuse as a result of Ayotte’s reckless budget cuts, which “have led to a dangerous shortage of youth counselors at the facility.” 

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Manchester InkLink: The Soapbox: So much for public safety, Kelly

• Kelly Ayotte loves to talk about public safety. But when it comes to actually keeping people safe, those claims don’t necessarily ring true.

• Just days ago, the State Police responded to an incident at the Sununu Youth Services Center, where a state trooper was reportedly assaulted by a juvenile. Both were taken to the hospital for evaluation. So how did we get here?

• Well, this is just the latest chapter in a deeply troubling pattern at the facility, with months of alleged abuse persisting under Ayotte’s watch. The SYSC continues to operate in a chronic state of dysfunction, a situation that has been mired by Ayotte’s disastrous cuts to the Office of the Child Advocate. Gov. Ayotte slashed staff capacity for the independent watchdog by nearly half and barreled forward with budget cuts that have led to a dangerous shortage of youth counselors at the facility. DHHS has been scrambling to reclassify as many as eight positions to cope with ongoing staffing challenges in the wake of continued abuse.

• The people working at SYSC deserve to be safe. The children in the state’s care deserve to be safe. And Granite Staters deserve to know that a state facility charged with protecting vulnerable young people isn’t putting them, or the people responding to emergencies there, in danger.

• These horrifying allegations that continue to surface are a result of Kelly’s reckless budget cuts. Cuts that claim to save taxpayer dollars, but in reality do the exact opposite. Public safety isn’t a talking point, Kelly — it’s your responsibility.