Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                          H.796
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                                       H.796
 Introduced by Representatives Cina of Burlington, Cole of Hartford, Headrick
                of Burlington, Logan of Burlington, Priestley of Bradford, and
                Sammis of Castleton
 Referred to Committee on
 Date:
 Subject: Corrections; decarceration; rehabilitation
 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to assess the
 current and future needs of secure residential recovery facilities for justice-
 involved individuals along the continuum of community care provided by the
 State so that they can provide the highest level of care to these individuals
 through curated community-based services. This bill proposes to achieve this
 goal by first creating a pilot project to integrate community-based services into
 a new secure recovery residence for justice-involved individuals in need of
 specialized care for co-occurring disorders. This bill also proposes to charge
 the Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council to examine replacing
 correctional facilities with a continuum of short-term and long-term residential
 facilities that employ evidence-based approaches to rehabilitate justice-
 involved individuals.
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     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                          H.796
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    An act relating to promoting recovery in residential facilities for justice-
    involved individuals
 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
 Sec. 1. FINDINGS
    The General Assembly finds that:
       (1) The social determinants of health affect public health and the social
 determinants of crime impact public safety, and these social determinants are
 intertwined.
       (2) Harsh social and physical environments in Vermont’s correctional
 facilities lead to recidivism, trauma, and harm.
       (3) Pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 7620(e)(2), a secure residential recovery
 facility is a licensed therapeutic community residence for justice-involved
 individuals “in need of treatment within a secure setting for an extended period
 of time.”
       (4) Vermont can reduce criminal behavior by investing in a continuum
 of housing and community-based services for all persons by reallocating
 correctional appropriations to fund increased access to housing and
 community-based services for justice-involved individuals, including new
 secure residential recovery facilities to treat mental health conditions and
 substance use disorders of justice-involved individuals within secure settings
 for extended periods of time.
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     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                         H.796
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 Sec. 2. PURPOSE AND INTENT
    (a) Purpose. The purpose of this act is to build community safety,
 empower recovery, improve health, promote equity, and serve justice for all
 persons, including justice-involved individuals, while reducing harm,
 disparities, crime, recidivism, trauma, and violence. The further purpose of
 this act is to provide opportunities for recovery and rehabilitation in secure
 residential recovery settings to justice-involved individuals detained, ordered,
 or sentenced to incarceration who are struggling with mental health conditions,
 substance use disorders, and criminogenic behavior so that they can achieve a
 just transition from incarceration to community care.
    (b) Intent. It is the intent of the General Assembly to:
       (1) offer secure residential recovery facilities to justice-involved
 individuals requiring the highest-level of care, wrapped in community-based
 services that follow individuals along the continuum of care from the most-
 restrictive to the least-restrictive settings;
       (2) create a pilot project to integrate community-based services into a
 new secure recovery residence for justice-involved individuals in need of
 specialized care for co-occurring disorders;
       (3) assess and meet the current and future needs for secure residential
 recovery facilities for justice-involved individuals in the continuum of
 community care; and VT LEG #373262 v.1
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                         H.796
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       (4) develop a just transition from incarceration to community care.
 Sec. 3. PILOT PROJECT; SECURE RECOVERY RESIDENCE FOR
         JUSTICE-INVOLVED INDIVIDUALS WITH CO-OCCURRING
         DISORDERS; REPORT
    (a) Pilot project. The Agency of Human Services, in partnership with
 stakeholders with lived experience in the criminal justice system, shall design a
 pilot project to create a 16-bed secure recovery residence for justice-involved
 individuals who have been sentenced to incarceration and are in need of
 specialized care for co-occurring disorders.
    (b) Report. On or before January 15, 2025, the Agency of Human Services
 and the Department of Buildings and General Services shall jointly submit a
 written report to the House Committees on Human Services, on Health Care,
 on Judiciary, and on Corrections and Institutions; to the Senate Committees on
 Health and Welfare, on Judiciary, and on Institutions; to the Joint Legislative
 Justice Oversight Committee; and to the Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory
 Council. The report shall examine the current and future needs for secure
 residential recovery facilities for all justice-involved individuals in Vermont.
 The report shall provide data and information, including:
       (1) current needs of all justice-involved individuals for community-
 based services that improve social determinants of health and promote
 recovery;
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     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                        H.796
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       (2) barriers to access to community-based services for justice-involved
 individuals in correctional facilities;
       (3) disparities between justice-involved individuals in correctional
 facilities, justice-involved individuals in the community, and the general
 population;
       (4) recent numbers of justice-involved individuals in correctional
 facilities in need of secure residential recovery facilities;
       (5) an assessment of potential locations for secure residential recovery
 facilities in every region of Vermont;
       (6) design proposals that create physical and social environments
 promoting recovery, grounded in evidence-based practices and transformative
 justice principles;
       (7) estimated costs and expenses, including a cost-benefit analysis that
 considers long-term impact on social determinants of health through
 investments in secure residential recovery facilities in comparison to
 correctional facilities;
       (8) projected needs of justice-involved individuals for community-based
 services that improve social determinants of health and promote recovery;
       (9) recommended strategies to provide community-based services and
 specialized treatments for justice-involved individuals in secure residential
 recovery facilities;
                                                                       VT LEG #373262 v.1
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                        H.796
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       (10) proposed methods to integrate secure residential recovery facilities
 for justice-involved individuals into systems of community care and justice
 across regions of Vermont; and
       (11) avenues to expand the use of peer-based services in secure
 residential recovery facilities.
 Sec. 4. DECARCERATION AND REHABILITATION; COORDINATED
         JUSTICE REFORM ADVISORY COUNCIL; REPORT
    (a) The Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council, in collaboration
 with stakeholders with lived experience in the criminal justice system, shall
 examine the process and needs attendant to eliminating correctional facilities
 in Vermont. To achieve this goal, the Council shall explore establishing a
 continuum of short-term and long-term residential options for justice-involved
 individuals to replace correctional facilities that employ evidence-based
 approaches to rehabilitation, including peer support, harm reduction, and
 contingency management techniques.
    (b) On or before November 15, 2024, the Council shall submit any
 recommendations pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to the Joint
 Legislative Justice Oversight Committee; the Senate Committees on Judiciary
 and on Health and Welfare; and the House Committees on Corrections and
 Institutions, on Health Care, on Human Services, and on Judiciary. Any
 recommendations shall be in the form of proposed legislation.
                                                                       VT LEG #373262 v.1
    BILL AS INTRODUCED                                      H.796
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 Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE
   This act shall take effect on July 1, 2024.
                                                    VT LEG #373262 v.1