Georgetown Study Finds 1,000 Children Buried in 40 State Custody Sites Across 29 States
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 10
Georgetown Study Finds 1,000 Children Buried in 40 State Custody Sites Across 29 States
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 10
Summary
More than 1,000 children who died or were killed in state custody were buried in at least 40 sites across 29 states, according to a Georgetown University Forgotten Children Initiative report released Thursday.
The study calls that tally a conservative first national accounting, covering deaths from the early 1800s to the 1950s and excluding children whose bodies were returned to their families.
Records suggest many children were poor and disproportionately Black, and many had been confined for being deemed “incorrigible” rather than for serious crimes; listed causes of death include diseases such as tuberculosis and influenza, though researchers question those records.
Maryland holds the largest site identified so far—an abandoned cemetery where hundreds of Black boys from the House of Reformation are believed buried; a Washington Post investigation previously found at least 230 deaths there between 1870 and 1939.
The report is already spurring local efforts, with Maryland funding a $1 million commission and researchers in places including Missouri and Connecticut tracing death records and trying to identify living relatives.
How did over a thousand vulnerable children vanish into unmarked graves while under state protection for over a century?
Will uncovering this tragic century-old pattern of state secrecy finally bring closure to the descendants searching for answers today?
Buried in Silence: The National Crisis of 1,000 Forgotten Children Who Died in State Custody
Overview
The Georgetown University Forgotten Children Initiative uncovered a national crisis: over 1,000 children who died in state custody are buried in forgotten graves across 29 states. This discovery began with the 1972 search for a secret cemetery at Maryland’s House of Reformation, leading to the formal rediscovery of over 100 graves and a deeper investigation revealing at least 230 Black boys died there due to abuse and neglect. The findings echo tragedies in Indigenous boarding schools and Irish institutions, where hidden graves and poor records masked systemic abuse. Today, advanced technologies and descendant-led efforts are restoring dignity and driving policy reforms to prevent future institutional harm.