Jason Laughlin

CANTON — Workers at a residential hospital for disabled children in Canton fear the state is quietly starving the historic facility of patients despite claiming to have abandoned a closure plan proposed last year.

A violent confrontation at Tewksbury Hospital last fall that ended with a security worker pepper-spraying a psychiatric patient and other staff has

Photo illustration • Adobe; Ryan Huddle \ Globe staff Health ‘A red target on their backs.' Records show a pattern of sexual abuse of children at Mass. group homes.

Horror stories of parents who murder their children are at least as old as the Greek myth of Medea , the scorned wife who killed her sons in a jealous rage.

Marisol Garcia , a lawyer with decades of experience advocating for young people, has been tapped to lead the state's watchdog agency for children.

Security protocols instituted last month barring the use of pepper spray products, handcuffs, and batons at the state hospital in Tewksbury have been partially reversed following a series of violent incidents.

Next January may seem distant to Bay Staters still shaking off memories of heavy snow and frigid days, but for physicians and state health officials, 2027 is approaching all too quickly.

Last month, Tewksbury State Hospital, a state-owned facility for people with mental and physical illnesses, made headlines for a series of violent incidents.