Vermont DCF backs H.2 raising juvenile minimum age to 12, warns workforce and program shortfalls may limit implementation

Montpelier — The Department for Children and Families told the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 19 that it supports H.2, the bill that would raise the minimum age for delinquency proceedings from 10 to 12, but warned the state’s child welfare and juvenile services system lacks the current staffing and program capacity to absorb additional cases without delay or further resources.

Erica Radke, deputy commissioner of the Family Services Division at the Department for Children and Families, said, “The department is definitely in support of H.2 in its current form. Raising the minimum age for delinquency from age 10 to 12 is really in alignment with our focus and our values as a division.” Radke added that the bill’s reporting requirements would allow the Legislature to track readiness over time.

The department backed the bill while urging caution about the timetable for full implementation. Lindy Boudreau, licensed services director at DCF, told the committee that some prior statutory expansions of juvenile jurisdiction have produced…