News
Vermont Bill S.99 Could Empower More Survivors?
Kurn Hattin Senate Hearings Influence New Law
Vermont lawmakers approved a bill that would remove the statute of limitations for physical abuse, allowing survivors to seek justice and file lawsuits over childhood abuse. The conversation began after claims of widespread abuse at the former St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington and the Vermont senate and legislature hearings into generations of abuse claims at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children in Westminster that were initiated as a direct result of a sole Kurn Hattin survivor's efforts to that end. ... Kurn Hattin Survivors Influence Vermont Law
State education agency will review troubled Kurn Hattin Homes for Children
We Are Vermont WRONG!
The Agency of Education will undertake a review of the troubled Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, the private residential school in Westminster that faces allegations of decades of abuse. Dan French, the secretary of education, asked the State Board of Education last month to review the school, citing a recent licensing report from the Department for Children and Families that found the school wasn’t conducting proper background checks and hadn’t reported abuse allegations promptly. ... Kurn Hattin Faces Allegations of Decades of Abuse
State board punts Kurn Hattin probe to Agency of Education
Emily Simmons Agency of Education General Counsel - Justice for Children Task Force?
A Boston-based attorney who represents former students of Kurn Hattin who say they suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse while at the school, slammed the board for playing a game of “hot potato.” “The secretary has already presented evidence to the board, they’ve seen the DCF records, there’s already sufficient evidence to call for a hearing, the fact that they are putting it back on the secretary of the Agency of Education with such evidence already in their hands is appalling and callous,” she said.
A Pox Be Upon Vermont:
I don't know what it means to a parent who sees on our website that a school is approved by the Agency of Education, but I take and the State Board of Education, I take very seriously that they might read more into it than we legally mean. And, and that motivates us at AOE to ensure that there is full compliance with all of our requirements of approved independent schools, because it means this, you know, almost nuanced thing about tuition in Vermont, but it carries a lot of weight. If a school is approved by the state of Vermont, and the Seal of Vermont, a seal of quality and the perception that everyone is much healthier in our state. So when something goes bad, it really does put a blemish on who we are culturally. ~ AOE Attorney Emily Simmons
Anne Galloway, VTDigger Editor/Founder - Hot mic statement calling into question the intelligence level of Vermont Agency of Education attorney, Emily Simmons, during a Vermont Senate Education Committee meeting with Senator Ginny Lyons:
I've never heard Simmons speak before. I hate to be cruel, but Jesus, she's, ... I don't know what to think. I mean, she's, she's an IDIOT!
The Massachusetts attorney also accused board members of trying to keep survivors of abuse quiet. Before the public comment section of Friday’s meeting, Carroll asked anyone wishing to speak not to talk about “any matter that may come before (the board) as a quasi-judicial matter.” “They just essentially want to continue the silence that Kurn Hattin has put into place for decades. They’re complicit in that now,” ... 'Agency of Education - Appalling and Callous'
Claims of past abuse surface at Kurn Hattin
Brattleboro Reformer
WESTMINSTER — A law firm that represented abuse survivors of Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics national team doctor, is representing men and women who say they were physically and sexually abused at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children. "Even though the abuse happened decades ago, the survivors can still make a difference today by holding the school accountable," ... Memories: "The Bane of Human Existence"
See No Evil Award
The Vermont Political Observer
If We Keep Our Eyes Closed, We Will See No Evil Award, going to the Vermont Agency of Education for allowing the scandal-plagued Kurn Hattin Homes for Children to continue operating an independent school. This, after Kurn Hattin had voluntarily relinquished its state license to operate a residential treatment program. That relinquishment was kind of an “I quit before you can fire me” thing, since a Department of Children and Families review of the residential program reported that “Staff are saying that they cannot adequately meet the needs of students, [and] children are saying they do not feel safe.”
In spite of the VTDigger story and the DCF conclusions, AND in spite of its own investigators citing Kurn Hattin’s failure “‘to implement safeguards’ to ensure employees had completed the necessary background checks and to ‘adequately train and supervise employees on their duties as mandatory reporters.'” But fear not, kids! The “increased scrutiny motivated” Kurn Hattin to improve its procedures. It wasn’t the decades of abuse. It wasn’t relinquishing its DCF license before it could be pulled. It was the fact that Digger uncovered its shameful past. Gives you loads of confidence, doesn’t it? It also has to make you question the adequacy of AOE’s oversight of independent schools, which are not subject to the same standards as public schools. ... Vermont Agency of Education Whitewash
“What we are doing today is the least we could do”
Vermont Senate
Recent testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee was the most compelling Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, ever heard, he said. And all the witnesses had the same question: Why didn’t the adults help us? On Tuesday, Baruth called on his fellow senators to start helping.
“What we are doing today is the least we could do,” he said. Moments later, the Senate voted 29-0 to advance S.99, which removes the statute of limitations for civil claims of childhood physical abuse.
Removing the statute of limitations would allow people to file civil lawsuits seeking damages for childhood abuse. The bill was prompted by investigations and claims of sexual and physical abuse at the now-closed Vermont Catholic Diocese’s St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington and at the New England Kurn Hattin Homes for Children, a private residential school in Westminster. The orphanage operated from 1854 to 1974. Kurn Hattin first opened in 1894 and is still in operation.
Two years ago, the Legislature did away with the statute of limitation for civil claims of childhood sexual abuse. Baruth said this year’s legislation gives survivors of physical abuse the right to pursue civil claims in the courts, knowing how difficult it can be to prove a case where the alleged actions happened years earlier. ... Vermont Senate Passes the Buck
How could a community not know?
Ron Krupp
I was shocked .... Documents, social media posts and interviews with victims detail how more than 60 children who came from disadvantaged homes were allegedly assaulted from the 1940s through 2019. Similar patterns of abuse were covered up for decades, victims say. ... How Does a Community Hide the Truth?
State board defers decision on reviewing troubled Kurn Hattin Homes
... And A Virtue-Signaling Lawyer Cries
Survivors told of patterns of child molestion, brutal punishments and violence.
Kurn Hattin failed to report the sexual abuse within 24 hours as mandated by law to DCF investigators. In some instances, the institution took months to notify authorities.
“Delaying this vote is a delay of justice for the survivors and only continues to leave children in the homes of Kurn Hattin at risk. This is a very serious matter. It needs to be heard — immediately,” she told board members. “I can tell you the heartbreak that I’m going to hear from every single one of my clients when I have to tell them you deferred this vote. It is a shame.
There were significant threats of self-harm, violence or exploitation at the Westminster campus from 2015 to 2019. Stephen Harrison, the school director's own 15-year-old foster child solicited “inappropriate” images of a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old Kurn Hattin student, according to records provided by DCF. ... More of the Same in Vermont