Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Abuse Investigation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
2nd Look Commission warns of gaps in child‑death investigations and residential care, urges comptroller audit
Summary
The 2nd Look Commission told the subcommittee it reviews roughly 1,000 child‑abuse cases annually, flagged missed autopsy findings and recurring problems at residential facilities (including improper restraints and spoiled food allegations), and recommended a comptroller audit and statutory clarifications.
Kylie Graves, director of the 2nd Look Commission, told the committee the panel reviews about 1,000 cases a year and examines all abuse‑death cases "about 2 to 8 per year." She described findings that in some abuse‑death investigations autopsies revealed healing rib fractures that had not been investigated and said members want clearer statutory language to flag strangulation in severe‑abuse cases.
Graves also reported multiple, corroborated concerns about residential facilities housing youth — including frequent use of therapeutic holds resulting in injuries, allegations that staff served children spoiled food, and cases where staff antagonized children into crisis. The commission recommended that the comptroller undertake a comprehensive audit of all residential facilities serving children in state custody and that the General Assembly review oversight structures for those settings.
