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The House Committee on Corrections and Institutions considers matters relating to Vermont’s State bonding as it relates to the financing of State-owned properties, State preservation initiatives, climate change mitigation, and water quality; the Department of Corrections’ role in the criminal justice system; and other similar policies.
The number of incarcerated individuals in Vermont’s corrections system has remained stable over the last few years. A little more than 1,400 individuals are incarcerated in Vermont at any given time. The Department of Corrections mission is to create a safe environment that is equitable while also seeing potential in all incarcerated people. They strive to support positive change by advancing restorative justice practices, creating rewarding career opportunities, and cultivating meaningful partnerships that break down systemic barriers for reentry into our communities.
Working to meet these needs is one of the key policy areas for the legislature. We are looking at creating educational opportunities within correctional policy. Today, the Community College of Vermont (CCV) teaches classes in many of our correctional facilities. It allows incarcerated people to get college level classes that set them up for success when they reenter our Vermont communities. At the same time, CCV has also enrolled correctional officers and their families to help advance their careers or just give them the opportunity to take a life enriching class.
The Vermont Medicaid Re-entry Program provides intensive voluntary pre-release case management and services for up to 90 days prior to the release of sentenced for sentenced individuals who are Medicaid-eligible. The program will serves as a bridge between being incarcerated and returning to one’s community. This program is made possible through a Medicaid Section 1115 waiver, which allows states to bypass federal Medicaid rules to test innovative, experimental, or pilot projects that align with program goals, such as improving care or lowering costs. These waivers must be budget-neutral, meaning they cannot cost the federal government more than what would have been spent without the waiver.
Last fall, the Governor and the mayor of Burlington agreed on a fourteen-point plan to address crime in and around Burlington. Part of this plan involved temporarily dedicating additional resources (reassigning a prosecutor, bringing a judge out of retirement, setting aside courtroom 3B of the Costello Courthouse) to quickly process the relatively small number of accused offenders who are responsible for an inordinate number of outstanding cases. The Chittenden “Accountability Court” has been viewed as a tremendous success.
H.635 (An act relating to eliminating Department of Corrections supervisory fees) is a bill that eliminates a supervisory fee imposed by the Department of Corrections. We are correcting issues with this pre-existing law because it puts an undue burden on recently incarcerated individuals. The majority of supervised people are in arrears on these fees, which then costs more money to administer the fee than it actually brings in.
The Corrections and Institutions Committee is responsible for initiating and adjusting the two-year Capital Bill. The legislature works to fund crucial infrastructure investments for our municipalities. It covers a range of projects like wastewater systems, water systems, and historic state office buildings with an aim at supporting public services and boosting economic growth.
The locally-focused component of the Capital Budget creates important opportunities for municipalities and community entities to leverage state dollars to initiate projects, stimulate growth, and address local needs. Some of the grant and loan opportunities considered include:
Building Community Grants (which cover a variety of areas such as recreation and cultural facilities, historic barn restoration, and economic development initiatives)
Visit each program’s website to learn more about the application process and deadlines.
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