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State child advocate warns lawmakers about oversight as DCF contracts with Abraxas for youth facility
Summary
The Child Youth and Family Advocate told the House Human Services committee that DCF’s contract with Abraxas for West River Haven — signed 12/16/2025 — raises accountability and safety questions after Pennsylvania regulators revoked the company’s license for related failures.
Matthew Bernstein, Vermont’s Child Youth and Family Advocate, testified before the House Human Services committee that proposed budget cuts to prevention programs are misplaced and raised specific questions about oversight of contracted youth facilities.
Bernstein urged lawmakers to prioritize prevention funding over expanding costly locked or staff-secure placements and presented data showing Vermont spends a small share of its child-welfare budget on prevention while spending heavily on out-of-home placements. "Crisis is not policy," he told the committee, arguing that cutting…
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