In a new lawsuit, seven children, formerly receiving treatment at Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Essex and at Middlesex Adolescent Center, claim 22 Department of Children and Families’ employees allowed abuse to go on for over four years. They filed in a federal court. The former patients said that the abuse happened between 2016 and 2020. In the complaint, they claim: “On a regular basis, vulnerable children, some of whom had been physically, mentally, and/or sexually abused by caregivers before they were taken into state custody and sent to Woodside, were physically assaulted and sometimes stripped of their clothing by Woodside staff members who demanded compliance with their orders. Many times, these same children were then confined to isolation cells in Woodside’s so called ‘North unit” for days, weeks, and sometimes months at a time.”A federal court in 2018 ordered that certain behaviors by staff stop, but this new lawsuit states that it did not cease in Middlesex.Woodside closed on October 1, 2020.”It wasn’t as effective,” Governor Phil Scott said during his Tuesday Covid-19 press briefing when asked about the lawsuit. “It wasn’t moving in the right direction. It wasn’t giving the treatment that we wanted to give.”Governor Scott, along with Secretary of Human Services Mike Smith, declined to comment further about the ongoing litigation.Attorney Celeste Laramie with Gravel & Shea PC of Burlington reviewed the lawsuit. She said she expects the attorney general’s office will represent the state employees, unless any sort of conflict at the AG’s office causes them to seek outside counsel.”Where DCF has already investigated and substantiated a significant portion of the facts in which these complaints rests give them a leg up I would say when it’s already documented within their internal records,” Laramie said.Some of the defendants named in the lawsuit include former DCF commissioner Kenneth Schatz, former deputy commissioners Karen Shea and Cindy Wolcott, along with the former director of Woodside Jay Simons. The rest of the defendants named include former employees of Woodside and DCF staff.The next steps, Laramie said, will be sorting through the specific claims. Then, a discovery process which includes collecting necessary paperwork and testimonies before mediation or a day in court can happen.”A damages award, one would hope, could really help juveniles who still have a real hope at getting the treatment and therapy needed to turn their lives around,” Laramie said.
In a new lawsuit, seven children, formerly receiving treatment at Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Essex and at Middlesex Adolescent Center, claim 22 Department of Children and Families’ employees allowed abuse to go on for over four years. They filed in a federal court.
The former patients said that the abuse happened between 2016 and 2020. In the complaint, they claim:
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“On a regular basis, vulnerable children, some of whom had been physically, mentally, and/or sexually abused by caregivers before they were taken into state custody and sent to Woodside, were physically assaulted and sometimes stripped of their clothing by Woodside staff members who demanded compliance with their orders. Many times, these same children were then confined to isolation cells in Woodside’s so called ‘North unit” for days, weeks, and sometimes months at a time.”
A federal court in 2018 ordered that certain behaviors by staff stop, but this new lawsuit states that it did not cease in Middlesex.
Woodside closed on October 1, 2020.
“It wasn’t as effective,” Governor Phil Scott said during his Tuesday Covid-19 press briefing when asked about the lawsuit. “It wasn’t moving in the right direction. It wasn’t giving the treatment that we wanted to give.”
Governor Scott, along with Secretary of Human Services Mike Smith, declined to comment further about the ongoing litigation.
Attorney Celeste Laramie with Gravel & Shea PC of Burlington reviewed the lawsuit. She said she expects the attorney general’s office will represent the state employees, unless any sort of conflict at the AG’s office causes them to seek outside counsel.
“Where DCF has already investigated and substantiated a significant portion of the facts in which these complaints rests give them a leg up I would say when it’s already documented within their internal records,” Laramie said.
Some of the defendants named in the lawsuit include former DCF commissioner Kenneth Schatz, former deputy commissioners Karen Shea and Cindy Wolcott, along with the former director of Woodside Jay Simons. The rest of the defendants named include former employees of Woodside and DCF staff.
The next steps, Laramie said, will be sorting through the specific claims. Then, a discovery process which includes collecting necessary paperwork and testimonies before mediation or a day in court can happen.
“A damages award, one would hope, could really help juveniles who still have a real hope at getting the treatment and therapy needed to turn their lives around,” Laramie said.
