Proposed budget would force closure of NH youth center

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The proposed budget headed for a House vote this week would force the closure of New Hampshire’s youth detention center next year.

Republican Rep. Jess Edwards told fellow House members Monday that the House Finance Committee’s recommendation to shut down the Sununu Youth Services Center was a bipartisan highlight of the $13.5 billion, two-year budget proposal.

He called the center, which is under criminal investigation for alleged abuses going back decades, expensive and ineffective.

Joe Ribsam is the director of the Division for Youth and Families. He says planning for a smaller facility makes sense but the budget proposal is unrealistic.

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