House committee hears calls to fix gaps in Vermontvictim-notification system

Montpelier, Vt.

Lawmakers and victim advocates told the House Corrections and Institutions Committee on April 2 that Vermonts victim-notification systems are fragmented and sometimes fail to deliver timely information to crime victims about earned time, transfers and release dates. The committee heard testimony from Jennifer Pullman of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, Department of Corrections victim services officials and county victim advocates, who urged a coordinated fix and stronger handoffs between law enforcement, prosecutors and DOC.

The witnesses said the state currently relies on two partly separate notification paths: advocates connected to states attorneys during prosecution, and a DOC-run VINELink system that provides post-adjudication notifications for people in custody. "In an ideal world, we would have a seamless system for victims, across the board," Jennifer Pullman, executive director of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, told the committee.

Why it matters: Advocates said gaps in how victim contact information is gathered and shared can leave victims unaware of changes in an offenders incarceration status for months or years. That risks retraumatizing victims and undercuts safety planning, the witnesses said. The committee earlier established a work group under Act 159; panelists described that group as the vehicle to…