Basic services, 2022
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Overall
State operated
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Detention
State operated
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Probation
State operated
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Reentry
State operated
Delinquency services are centralized in Vermont. The Family Services Division of the Department for Children and Families (DCF) administers secure detention, probation, commitment to state facilities, and aftercare services. Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center closed and there are no longer any juvenile detention or corrections facilities in the state of Vermont. DCF administers referrals for secure detention in facilities outside of Vermont, such as the Sununu Youth Services Center in New Hampshire.
Community supervision and reentry services are performed by DCF juvenile probation officers who are often social workers. |
Purpose clauses, 2016
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No clause
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Parens patriae
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Due process era
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Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ)
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Developmental Approach
Corrections agency, 2015
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Independent juvenile corrections agency
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Family/child welfare agency or division
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Broad human services agency
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Adult corrections agency or division
The Family Services Division of the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) administers commitments to state juvenile correctional facilities and aftercare services for youth leaving those facilities.
Intake and diversion, 2016
Initial intake and court diversion decision is at the discretion of the prosecutor.
No statutory time limit/s for court diversions exist.
Solitary confinement, 2016
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Prohibits punitive confinement
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Limits punitive confinement
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No limits on punitive confinement
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Did not respond
Solitary confinement for punitive purposes is not allowed in Vermont's juvenile correctional facility, Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center. Seclusion only used to ensure immediate safety of youth or others Confinement for longer than 30 minutes requires administrative or clinical approval. (Adapted from 51 Jurisdiction Survey of Juvenile Solitary Confinement Rules in Juvenile Justice Systems, 2016. Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest at Lowenstein Sandler LLP)
Release decision, 2016
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Agency
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Court
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Parole board
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Agency and court
Release decisions for youth committed to the Department for Children and Families (DCF) can be made by the Department or the committing court. Releases can be initiated by either DCF- FSD staff or the court depending on the type of commitment. The YASI is used to inform the release decision. Courts are not required to be notified of releases unless stipulated in the court order. NCJJ's 2005 survey indicated the committing court made release decisions.
Risk assessment, 2020
| Organization |
2013 |
2017 |
2020 |
| Statewide uniform assessment |
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| Layered/regional assessment |
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| Locally administered assessment |
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In Vermont, juvenile probation is administered by the Family Services Division of the Department for Children and Families. State statute and Family Services Division administrative policy require the use of a risk/needs assessment in all juvenile probation. Vermont uses the Youth Assessment & Screening Instrument (YASI) statewide and provides training on the YASI for probation officers. Information from the YASI is used to guide diversion from formal process decisions and informal adjustment planning, develop/inform pre-disposition investigation reports and/or planning, develop probation disposition recommendations to the juvenile court, develop probation case plans, and inform prosecutors’ decision of whether or not to direct file to adult court. The state is not currently aggregating case level data, but has plans to do so in the future.
Sex offender registration, 2015
Does not register
Risk instruments, 2017
- Risk instruments tool used
- Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI)
Mental health screening, 2014
Requires a research-based mental health screening
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Secure detention
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Probation
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Corrections
- Mental health screening tool used
- Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument –Version 2 (MAYSI-2)
Vermont requires the use of standardized mental health screening for youth admitted to the only juvenile detention and treatment facility in the state, Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center. The policy was adopted when the facility successfully received American Corrections Association (ACA) accreditation and became a Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrator's (CJCA) Performance Based Standards (PbS) site.
PbS is a data-driven improvement model grounded in research that holds juvenile justice agencies, facilities and residential care providers to the highest standards for operations, programs and services The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2 (MAYSI-2), is the instrument Woodside administrators adopted. Since both pre-adjudication detention and post-disposition residential services are handled at Woodside, the cost of implementing mental health screening is absorbed in the facility operating budget.
While a standardized mental health screening tool has not been uniformly adopted in community supervision services, the state has adopted the Youth Assessment & Screening Instrument (YASI), apply the YASI pre-screen prior to initial hearing in delinquency matters and may make recommendations based on the mental health module of the assessment.
Frameworks for evidence-based practices, 2014
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Statute
Supporting commitment to EBPs
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Administrative regulations
Either in corrections, probation, or the juvenile court
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Support center
Or collaboration dedicated to coordinating activities around implementing, evaluating, and sustaining EBPs
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No stance
No official stance on EBPs
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Did not respond
State did not respond to the survey
Vermont supports the implementation and expansion of evidence-based programs and practices (EBPs) in the juvenile justice system through the State Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice allocating block grant funding to the University of Vermont for juvenile justice training that is research-based. The SAG further supports specific EBPs and requires grantees to report performance and is in the early phases of developing a statewide guide to EBPs.
Recidivism reporting, 2016
Does not publish recidivism consistently over time.
