03/26/2026
A Preventable Tragedy:
Adriana "Trevor" Carvalho passed away on February 10, 2026 at the age of eighteen. Trevor was a named plaintiff in the federal class action lawsuit, J. “E.” L. v. Charest. This ongoing lawsuit, brought jointly by Disability Rights Rhode Island, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, and Children’s Rights, was filed in November 2024 against the state of Rhode Island for denying Medicaid-eligible children and youth their right to appropriate behavioral health care.
We came to know and care about Trevor as we investigated the state’s failure to provide legally required, community-based behavioral health services and other supports. Trevor suffered, and children like him continue to suffer, in extended stays in facility and hospital settings such as the now-shuttered St. Mary’s Home for Children - environments that exacerbate their struggles and even traumatize children – by removing them from family, friends, school and their daily activities in the community. They suffer because the state does not provide the community-level help they need to live and thrive. Trevor, a dedicated advocate, spoke out bravely on behalf of children languishing in institutions, with a commitment to making life better for them. In his words, “I want to make sure no other kids have to go through what I have.”
There are thousands of “other kids” like Trevor in our state. Over 20,000 children on Medicaid in Rhode Island have a behavioral health disability. As far back as 2010, the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform called Rhode Island’s institutionalization rate for children among the “worst in the nation and vastly above the national average.” As of 2022, the state’s institutionalization rate was 50% above the national average. As of August 2024, around 80 Rhode Island children were placed in out-of-state residential psychiatric facilities – with some as far away as Idaho. Several of these facilities have been linked to abuse, understaffing, and even deaths. The number of children placed in out-of-state facilities has grown by 30% between 2022 and 2024. In that same period, the amount that the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families has spent on such facilities ballooned by over 2000%, from $71,380 to $1.98 million.
Trevor’s death is unspeakably tragic. He was failed, for years on end, by the systems established and charged with serving him and other children in need. State policymakers and decision-makers have been warned for years about failures in the support network for children with behavioral health disabilities. The stark truth is that serious trauma, skipping school and dropping out, juvenile justice system involvement, and su***de are among the significant risks for adolescents, particularly those experiencing behavioral health challenges. Our organizations joined together to demand that the state do what is legally required to care for these vulnerable children, not ignore them and not warehouse them.
Trevor was, in so many ways, a typical young person. He loved animals, anime and online gaming. He enjoyed music and even wrote his own songs. He had a quick wit and a joke always at the ready. Raised by loving grandparents, Trevor was kind, compassionate, and deeply feeling. He was a good friend. He had his whole life ahead of him. It should not have ended at the tender age of eighteen. It is devastating that Trevor’s death was preventable.
We join Trevor’s loving family and many friends in mourning his devastating loss. And we continue our work and demand that the state of Rhode Island and its Department of Children, Youth and Families meet their legal requirements in providing a continuum of comprehensive and evidence-based behavioral health services in the communities, where young people go to school and live with their families. We demand that DCYF provide the services children need to prevent a tragedy like what happened to Trevor Carvalho.
