New Mexico Institutional Child Abuse Attorneys

Protecting Survivors and Advocating for Their Legal Rights

When you put your children into the care of others, you’re trusting them to protect them. Unfortunately, in many cases, there are systems-level failures in the organizations and institutions responsible for the safety and well-being of the children in their care. While school child abuse is one example, institutional abuse can also happen in the foster care system, juvenile detention facilities, and residential centers, such as substance use treatment facilities or group homes.

At Kennedy Law Firm, we help families understand their options when their children have been neglected or abused in the very institutions that were supposed to keep them safe. Our Albuquerque child abuse lawyers are here to help you understand your rights and seek justice. Call (505) 588-5716 to speak to a member of our legal team.

Where Can Institutional Child Abuse Happen?

Institutional child abuse can be any type of abuse that happens in an organization or setting where staff are responsible for the child’s care. Institutional child abuse may happen in:

• Public or private schools. Inadequate supervision can result in neglect and injury, and abuse may be perpetrated by teachers or other staff members. Improper hiring procedures, lack of training, and failing to act when abuse is reported can contribute to institutional child abuse.
• Foster care systems. Children in the foster care system are at a higher risk of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Both foster families and the agency itself may be held accountable if the children are placed in unsafe homes, there is inadequate monitoring, or complaints aren’t properly investigated.
• Juvenile detention centers. Children who are in state custody are entirely reliant on that system to provide for their needs and keep them safe. Whether it’s direct action, such as physical or sexual abuse, or inaction, such as inadequate supervision or negligence, abuse can and does happen in institutional settings.
• Group homes and residential treatment centers. These institutions may use dangerous restraints or excessive force when trying to control children, and abusive tactics, such as isolation and sleep deprivation, may also occur.

The truth is that institutional child abuse can happen anywhere that adults are trusted with caring for children. When the system fails, it’s important for victims and their families to know that they have rights and options for legal action.

What Qualifies as Child Abuse?

Child abuse can involve many different actions, as well as inaction in the case of neglect. But it generally falls into the following categories.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse involves excessive physical force or violence. In some institutional settings, such as residential treatment facilities, restraints may be used legally when necessary. But when those practices are applied incorrectly or in an excessive manner, it can rise to the level of abuse.

When you think about physical abuse, you may think of corporal punishment, such as spanking. While striking a child can be physical abuse in some cases, excessive discipline, the use of stress positions, and withholding food, water, and other necessities also qualify.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse includes any pattern of behavior that results in emotional harm or emotional distress. In institutional settings for children, this could include verbal abuse, such as yelling or cursing at a child, or more subtle tactics, such as intimidation or isolation. Emotional abuse is often more difficult to identify because there aren’t any physical marks. Behavioral changes and an increase in mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, can be signs of institutional emotional abuse.

Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse and exploitation can happen in institutional settings due to the staff members’ access to children. This can include forcing them to perform sexual acts, engaging in inappropriate conversations, and even sex trafficking.

Can the Institution or School as a Whole Also Be Liable?

While most people think of holding the individual perpetrator accountable for child abuse, it may also be possible to hold the organization itself liable when child abuse happens within an institution that is supposed to keep children safe. Common scenarios where the institution may share in liability are:

• Failure to conduct background checks or properly screen employees
• Failure to provide appropriate supervision for children
• Failure to investigate or respond to complaints of child abuse within the institution

When the institutions are part of the public system, whether it’s a public school or the foster care system, for example, it’s important to also consider whether civil rights violations have occurred. At Kennedy Law Firm, we have experience helping clients with institutional child abuse cases. Our attorneys can ensure you understand your rights and who can be held accountable for the abuse you or your child has endured.

What Evidence Can Help Prove Your Institutional Abuse Case?

Institutions like schools and group homes have a vested interest in keeping claims of child abuse quiet, and this can sometimes make it difficult to obtain the records and documents you need to prove your case. Incident reports, internal disciplinary actions, and communication between you and the staff members can all be helpful in an institutional abuse case.

Medical records also play a key role in this process. These records may document physical injuries that point to a pattern of abuse, and disclosures of abuse may have been recorded in therapy records. Other documentation, such as personnel records and training manuals used at the institution, can also be helpful.

Witness testimony, including from staff members and other children who saw the abuse and expert witnesses, can corroborate what happened to you and strengthen your civil claim. The legal process of proving institutional abuse can be challenging, but having experienced legal representation on your side ensures you have an advocate and guide every step of the way.

Institutional abuse cases can involve complex questions about liability and what happens when the systems that are supposed to protect New Mexico children don’t. Depending on the facts of the case, you may be able to pursue a claim in the state and federal courts, especially when a public institution is involved.

If you or your child has been abused within a school or other institution, our Albuquerque child abuse attorneys are here to help. We can evaluate your claim, identify who may be held responsible, and seek justice on behalf of the child victim. Call Kennedy Law Firm at (505) 588-5716 to schedule a consultation or ask a question about a civil rights claim.