Late-session updates: Progress for kids and youth

The last few weeks of the legislative session were a whirlwind of decision making. 216 bills have been passed by both chambers this biennium, 102 have become state law, and an additional 21 Municiple Acts have been enacted. 7 of those went into effect without the Governor’s signature and another 11 have been vetoed so far. There have been 375 resolutions adopted, including one honoring child and victim advocate  Sally Borden for her achievements. That’s a lot of work! Policy choices impact nearly every aspect of our lives, and Voices has been working hard to move forth meaningful changes for children and youth in Vermont. We’ll share a full session recap once the dust settles (the Governor has yet to review dozens of bills and legislators will reconvene to complete unresolved business in mid-June), but the following updates reflect recent progress on areas in which we’ve been deeply engaged: 

S.109: Studying medicaid coverage for Doula Services: Signed into law 

On May 6th, Governor signed S.109, officially paving the way for Medicaid coverage for doula services in Vermont. While it shifted significantly during the session, this bill lays important groundwork for future implementation by mandating the Office of Professional Regulation to undertake a "sunrise study" to assess how the doula profession might be regulated, and directing the Department of Vermont Health Access to determine rates, costs, and feasibility. These administrative steps can help make it possible for Vermont to join other states in offering this coverage. We're grateful for the strong support and enthusiasm of the legislature in moving this forward and are looking forward to elevating the voices of families and doulas and the advocates around the country who are working to make sure this policy stays centered in Reproductive Justice, the Community Doula model, and equitable access for families.

H. 661: Child abuse and neglect investigation and substantiation standards: Passed!

Voices celebrates the passage of this bill, which will help ensure that DCF’s investigations are thorough, unbiased, based on accurate and reliable evidence, and adhere to due process requirements. You can see Voices written testimony here.  In particular, we’re lifting up the important work of the Parent Representation Center, the OCYFA, the legislature (particularly House Human Services and Senate Health and Welfare), and the impacted people who brought this bill forward.  Voices will join the Parent Representation Center, the Department of Education, the Department of Mental Health, DCF and others in the rulemaking process and next steps for implementation. This bill represents real progress and is the beginning of important work ahead! 

H.644: Records Access for Foster Youth- Passed!

“A few years ago, I learned that I was not allowed to have my records even though I’d left custody decades ago. It was heartbreaking and frustrating to know that such a vital part of my history was locked away out of reach.  I teared up when this bill passed. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” - Impacted Person

H.644, a bill directing DCF to ensure the disclosure of records relating to the experiences of children and youth in foster care where appropriate, is the result of years of collective effort. It represents an important step toward healing for foster youth, while also providing an important layer of transparency and accountability to our systems.  Voices commends the work of DCF and the Vermont Archives in helping bring  this bill forward. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, legislative council, the Office of Child, Youth, and Family Advocate and the Department for their efforts  to get this bill across the finish line.  In particular, we are lifting up the impacted people who have named the need for this shift for decades. There is still a great deal of work to be done to clean up the statutes and implement these changes and we look forward to continuing to support the state’s efforts to move toward repair.

Act 49: Removing the ratable reduction for Reach Up–Partial Progress

This act, passed in 2023 (H.94) with strong advocacy from Voices and the entire Reach Up Coalition, required the Department to produce a report with an actionable plan to eliminate the ratable reduction in 5 years.  While the report was submitted to the committees of Jurisdiction, the legislature failed to complete the first step of the plan as directed, which called for the Reach Up budget to be increased by 20% this fiscal year. This gap will still need to be addressed, creating an additional burden in the years ahead. However, the legislature did take a small step forward by requiring the unfunded budget pressures report to include current year basic needs figures (rather than the outdated numbers they currently use, which include a housing allowance last updated in 2001). This will, at the very least, help the state develop an accurate picture of the current standard of need in the budget.

S.58 - Public Safety- Passed despite pressing concerns

Voices advocated against the passage of S.58, which directs particular cases involving youth to the adult court system rather than youth or family court. The "tough-on-youth-crime" approach taken by this bill is part of a larger and deeply concerning effort to frame youth behavior in Vermont as a threat, rather than a signal. It belies the facts as we know them- including that incarcerating youth is shown to actually increase rates of recidivism. By further criminalizing children instead of addressing the underlying systemic issues at the heart of the matter, Vermont will continue perpetuating the very conditions that lead to increased crime.  Vermont’s history of secure youth facilities can be found on the Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission's website. While we anticipate Gov Scott will sign this bill, we continue to call upon him to veto this step backward for our state.

S.6 Prohibiting the use of threats, physical harm, deception, or psychologically manipulative interrogation tactics by a law enforcement officer during a custodial interrogation of a person under 18 years of age: Vetoed

According to Vermont law, police officers are allowed to lie and use coercive tactics to elicit confessions from children arrested in our state. In addition to supporting non-carceral solutions to youth behaviors, Voices believes that we should, at a minimum, be able to agree that lying to kids is wrong. Allowing this practice to stand at the same time that we are passing bills to direct more youth into adult carceral systems compounds the scale of injustices that will occur as a result. We know that this practice leads to false confessions and does not being us closer to safety.  When we allow people with power to lie to and threaten youth, we erode trust in our systems - which harms everyone. S.6 was passed by the legislature last year and subsequently vetoed by Governor Scott. While a paired down version of the intent of the bill passed the senate, it did not make it through the House. Voices encourages the legislature to do the right thing for kids by taking up S.6 during the upcoming veto session so that it can make it into law. 

H.55 An act relating to miscellaneous unemployment insurance amendments: Still in play

This expansive bill includes updates to unpaid leave and a baby bond pilot that Voices has advocated for. While the June encore is widely being called the “veto session”, the legislature still has the opportunity to take action on H.55.

Community Schools

Voices celebrates the legislatures decision to include a $1 million investment in Community Schools in order to continue the work established by Act 67, which provided grants for 5 schools to develop and pilot Community School models around the state. Community schools provide an important strategy for tackling inequities that disadvantage children inside and outside of school and for building on the unique assets of their students, families, and communities, and we look forward to continuing to support this important work.

Help us celebrate this work and more at our 40th Anniversary Celebration on June 6th at the Old Labor Hall in Barre! Learn more and purchase tickets here.