Lawmakers Hear Plan for at Least 600 Supportive Housing Units for People with Developmental Disabilities

Susan Aronoff, senior planner and policy analyst for the state Developmental Disabilities Council, told a legislative committee Wednesday that section 6 of S.1 would direct a work group to produce an "actionable plan" for at least 600 additional units of service‑supported housing for people served through the developmental disability services waiver.

The plan, Aronoff said, builds on Act 186 and pilot planning grants the Legislature funded earlier; the council’s housing report assessed a need of 604 units and the bill language aims to move from one‑off projects toward a statewide, actionable strategy. "We're not gonna get there with these one‑offs and one at a time. We need a plan," Aronoff said.

Why it matters: committee members pressed on where units would be located and who would shape the plan. Aronoff warned that the geographic distribution of need is not readily available in a single public dataset and said the work group may need data from the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) and from Vermont Care Partners to match units to need across the state. She said the bill’s drafters set an…