Voices for Vermont’s Children calls on the State of Vermont to fulfill its obligation to youth placed at rehabilitation services by providing a stable, trauma-informed, therapeutic environment and a full continuum of appropriate treatment services responsive to the needs of each individual youth. Before the pandemic, the administration outlined a plan to close Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center by July 1st of this year. While the pandemic has understandably complicated these plans, the challenges facing the facility persist and the need for a thoughtful transition plan centered on what’s best for youth, with abundant stakeholder engagement, remains. 

According to the Department for Children and Families website, the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center follows “best practices in juvenile justice and provide specialized, evidence-based treatment services, putting us at the cutting edge of juvenile rehabilitation centers.” They further state that “Placement here is not meant as punishment. It’s a unique opportunity to help youth learn how to face their challenges and build on their strengths so they can be successful when they return to their communities.” However,  Disability Rights Vermont reached a settlement after filing a federal lawsuit demonstrating dangerous conditions within the facility, indicating that practice is not consistently aligned with this philosophy. 

This lack of alignment can be seen clearly in the state’s pandemic response, when youth were moved from Woodside to St. Albans, then to Middlesex, and back to Woodside. Due to the rushed nature of the moves, Woodside failed at one thing that they were consistently credited for – maintaining a secure setting. Staff and residents have reported additional confusion, trauma, and destabilization during the moves. Plans to create a setting that will work for youth appear to be stalled. 

The pandemic has affected every aspect of our society, but to point to this crisis as a reason for the lack of progress at Woodside is unacceptable. The health and welfare of the youth at Woodside and across the state needs to be front and center as the state looks to identify next steps. At this critical juncture, we must prioritize the development of a long term, responsive solution to an antiquated treatment model that is not meeting the needs of Vermont’s youth.