Attorney General staff brief committee on YDC claims fund exposure and administrator litigation

Attorney General staff briefed the Fiscal Committee on Dec. 19 about the status of the Youth Development Center (YDC) claims fund, ongoing litigation over a claims administrator appointment, and funding exposures.

Laura Raymond, assistant attorney general who works on the YDC claims fund, said the office is in pending litigation concerning appointment of a new claims administrator and therefore has limits on what it can say publicly. She added the office continues to resolve claims where possible. Jackie Kern Stewart, senior paralegal, and Tom Kemp, deputy director of administration at the attorney general’s office, joined the presentation.

Committee members raised concerns about settlement pace and costs. Raymond and other AG staff said administrative costs to the fund are largely payments to outside counsel (the law firm Veral Dana) and that about $6.9 million in administrative costs are shown on the report. The committee noted total committed payments of about $237 million for 419 settled cases while approximately $185 million has been appropriated so far. AG staff said the $237 million figure represents amounts owed over up to 10 years under structured installment payments and that appropriations to date cover current year obligations; the office will request further appropriations as future fiscal years require.

Members pressed whether claimants named alleged perpetrators to the attorney general and whether criminal investigations followed; AG staff said claimants are not required to participate in criminal investigations to participate in the claims fund, though referrals to police have been made in some instances. The committee requested a meeting with the attorney general’s office to explore process details and to review how claims were processed.

The chair said he will try to schedule that meeting with the attorney general for interested committee members.