EXETER, R.I. (WPRI) — State leaders were in Exeter on Wednesday to break ground on what will become Rhode Island's newest residential facility for teenage girls, creating what they hope will be a better option for young women with behavioral health needs.

"Today is a long day coming. Rhode Island will finally have a facility to take care of the state's most vulnerable children," Rep. Julie Casimiro said. "Sadly and too often, they have been forgotten and shipped out of state to be someone else's problem."

Out-of-state residential placements have been a growing and concerning trend for state leaders over the years, and child advocates say they're making reunifications with families more difficult.

"They are so far out of state," House Oversight Committee Chair Patricia Serpa said. "They're in the Carolinas. They're in Georgia. How do you participate in family therapy or any kind of realistic therapy via Zoom when your parents are 600 miles away?"

The latest data from the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) shows there are currently 81 children from Rhode Island residing in psychiatric treatment facilities outside the state.

DCYF Director Ashley Deckert says the data showed girls between the ages of 13 and 18 were in most need of dedicated long-term treatment, which is why the new $45 million residential facility is crucial.

"It's going to be a high-quality, high-tech facility with classrooms, with bedrooms, with caring staff, so they'll be able to have all their needs met here," Deckert explained.

Construction is expected to be completed in late spring of 2026.

Avoiding issues like at St. Mary's

The new facility in Exeter will help fill some of the gaps left behind after the closure of St. Mary's Home for Children.

The North Providence facility came under scrutiny at the beginning of the year, when the Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) published a report alleging neglect, abuse and unsafe conditions at the home.

Deckert says DCYF is in the process of developing a residential monitoring unit to avoid similar issues at its other residential facilities.

"What that looks like is staff who will specifically be assigned to residential facilities, who will be able to sit with the kids, interact with them, observe them, and work to try to transition them out," Deckert explained.

Serpa says she doesn't expect teens to run away from the facility in Exeter like they did from St. Mary's, since it's not in the city.

"I mean, there's a cemetery on one side and cornfields on the other. Hopefully, that will make them think twice," Serpa said.

It's unclear when St. Mary's will reopen or when construction on its new psychiatric residential treatment facility will resume. That construction has been placed on hold while Tides Family Services, which assumed day-to-day management of St. Mary's in May, finishes a full review of the facility's programs.