Office of the Child Advocate report details alleged abuse, neglect at St. Mary’s Home for Children

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) released a report on alleged abuse and neglect at St. Mary’s Home for Children in North Providence, as well as issues with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

The large-scale investigation was triggered by an overdose of a 17-year-old at the home on April 9, 2023.

The OCA said in the report that 18 child protective services reports were filed since March 2023 reference to the home, and that the home did not report incidences of abuse to DCYF in the timespan required by law.

“[The OCA is] extremely concerned for the children and continuing to place children with significant mental health, substance use, and trauma issues into the mix of youth already placed at St. Mary’s,” the report reads.

The OCA said that the home responded saying it had done investigations to the reported incidents. The OCA continued by noting that the information collected by the group home was not shared with them in a timely fashion.

In one instance, a child who was reported missing for several days was returned back to the home by Providence Police on May 8, 2023, prompting an unannounced visit from OCA representatives the next day.

The visiting staff reported they found child residents and bedrooms “dirty and disheveled,” as well as low staffing numbers as well as low staff morale.

Further investigation found video footage of staff members allegedly “acting inappropriately” when attempting to restrain a child.

“The video footage of [the incident of inappropriate restraint] clearly shows the staff member inappropriately place her hands on the child and sit on top of her in a chair, in which it appears she is choking the child,” the report reads.

The OCA said that this incident was not reported to police and the staff member was later fired after the investigation.

The report also outlines several alleged incidents of sexual harassment and assaults, including “juvenile on juvenile” as well as between a staff member and an 8-year-old who made the child sit on their lap behind closed doors.

The report concluded by saying that both St. Mary’s as well as DCYF were “frequently unresponsive” to requests from the OCA.

“Communication with DCYF was marginal at best and the department was mostly unresponsive to the concerns brought to their attention,” the report reads. “The OCA’s concerns with St. Mary’s ability to maintain the safety of children remains amplified.”

The full report can be read here under “Other Reports.”