Bradley, Carson applauds work to strengthen child protection, mental health services in NH

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Today, the Senate passed a package of bills to address the needs in the Division of Children, Youth and Families [DCYF], specifically, expanding voluntary services for at risk families, bolstering the foster care process, providing support services, reducing the caseload burden as well as addressing the needs of developmentally disabled community and mental health care in our state.

Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) and Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued the following statements:

“The bills approved today work in conjunction to send existing unspent funding plus additional resources totaling approximately $5.5 million to support critical needs in DCYF, the Developmentally Disabled Community as well as substance abuse and mental health care. We have the opportunity to address the needs of our mental health care system today and I am pleased to see the senate support these three bills,” said Senator Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro).

“This includes expanding residential beds for mental health treatment to ensure individuals have improved access to care when they need it. This legislation also provides a broad range of additional support services for children and families like additional staff at DCYF to lessen the caseload burden, provide additional resources to bolster the foster care system, expand resources for the developmentally disabled community and support for residential beds for mental health care,” said Bradley.

“In response to the independent report on DCYF released last year, we have been committed to implementing the recommendations made in the report and many are reflected in these bills. This includes adding caseload workers to decrease the burden on individual workers, as well as other child protection staff, including drug and alcohol counselors, attorneys and other personnel,” said Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry). “We’ve seen an increase in DCYF cases as a result of the opioid crisis and providing additional funding and resources, like drug and alcohol counselors can help prevent and mitigate long-term cases.”

“One bill in particular (SB 590) provides $1.5 million dollars that would go towards providing community support services for at risk children and families in order to expand preventative measures. The goal is to keep children and families out of the DCYF system, provide home visiting services, child care or trauma care before a situation can develop requiring DCYF involvement,” added Carson.

“Every child deserves to live in a safe home and I applaud the committee and the Senate for passing this legislation and hope we can continue to make progress improving the safety of our children in New Hampshire,” said Carson.

Carson praises infrastructure improvements coming to Londonderry

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Senator Sharon Carson issued the following statement after joining Governor Sununu to present the Town of Londonderry with $519,823 for road and infrastructure improvements:

“As the I-93 expansion project continues, small businesses and working families are recognizing the renewed opportunity to be part of a growing region in and around the Town of Londonderry. At a time like this, making sure we are equipped with modern, safe roadways, bridges and basic infrastructure that supports our citizens and small business is essential.”

“The legislature recognized that Londonderry, and every other city and town in our state could benefit from infrastructure improvements, which is why we passed a bill that would return $37 million in surplus funds to communities across the state.”

“Today I am very pleased to present the Town of Londonderry, along with Governor Sununu, a check for $519,823 that will be used for our most pressing road projects so that we can continue to be a magnet for small business and families in the southern tier.”

Carson, Feltes pleased by passage of bill restoring rights to Granite Staters

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Senator Dan Feltes (D-Concord) and Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry), co-sponsors of SB 200, a bill to protect the constitutional right of Granite Staters to avoid imprisonment for failure to pay a debt issued the following statement:

“We are pleased with the Senate’s passage of SB 200 which makes reforms addressing our debtors prison problem, providing important safeguards and also counsel which ensures that no Granite Stater is thrown in jail simply for an inability to pay a debt.”

Carson applauds step towards strengthening NH laws against perpetrators of sex trafficking

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CarsonConcord, NH -Today, HB 1628 was signed, which will make it a crime for a person who agrees to pay for sexual encounters with a person under the age of 18 in New Hampshire. This bill takes an important step to protect children who have been subjected to sex trafficking by establishing felony convictions for individuals who pay for sexual activities with underage persons in New Hampshire.

Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued a statement following the bill being signed.

“While it may seem that human trafficking is a problem felt in big cities alone, we know it happens everywhere, including right here in New Hampshire. This new law is a critical tool that will help put an end to this heinous crime and lets perpetrators and participants alike know that we have zero tolerance for crimes against our children. Prior to this legislation, there was no statute in place by which to prosecute these offenders. This bill will establish the necessary recourse to hold these criminals accountable for perpetuating this horrific practice and hopefully serve to eliminate sex trafficking of underage children from taking place in this state altogether.”

“As legislators, it is our duty to take common sense steps, like this bill, to protect our children. I appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into this measure by both the House and the Senate. This important law will ensure anyone involved in sex trafficking with underage children will be held accountable for their actions.”

Carson praises increased penalties for distribution private images or ‘revenge porn’

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Sharon_atsenatedeskConcord, NH – Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued the following statement upon the passage of SB 465 into law, creating penalties for the dissemination of private sexual images without prior consent.

“With the advent of instantaneous communication and social media, sharing of private information or images that without prior consent to intentionally cause harm has become a greater problem for our state,” said Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry).

“With the passage of SB 465 into law, we’ve attached penalties to posting, sharing, or distributing explicit images with the intent to cause harm or without prior permission, providing law enforcement with the necessary standards by which they can prosecute these offenders who engage in what’s known as ‘revenge porn’. By increasing penalties for this practice, we hope to protect individual privacy and deter the improper distribution of any private images,” Carson added.