Expert tells Senate Judiciary that completing Vermont—s Raise-the-Age rollout advances public safety

Whale Chester, a researcher at Columbia University, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 19 that Vermont is well positioned to move forward with the second phase of its Raise the Age reforms but must fix persistent data gaps and assign an agency to monitor implementation.

Chester said the "goal of Raise the Age is public safety," and described research showing that 18- and 19-year-olds share developmental traits with younger adolescents that make adult-style punishment less effective and often counterproductive.

Chester summarized three research streams informing "emerging adult justice": neurobiology, developmental psychology and life-course criminology. She said emerging adults are more influenced by peers, more impulsive and more motivated by positive incentives than by the negative consequences emphasized in adult criminal courts. "When young people are saddled with adult records, for example, they cannot achieve an education. They often cannot get housing. They often cannot get meaningful employment," she said.

Chester outlined the results Vermont has seen since the first phase began, saying 18-year-olds were moved into family court on July 1, 2020, and reporting declines in several measures. She told the committee that probation caseloads and custody placements have fallen and that "FY 2022, there are only 6 youth that fit that category" for pre-disposition custody in juvenile court. She cautioned that publicly available data stop at FY 2022 in the materials she cited and said more recent, regularly compiled statistics are not publicly accessible.

Chester urged the legislature to require clearer, aggregated Raise the Age reporting and to designate a single entity to collect data from DCF, the courts, state's attorneys and diversion programs. "Vermont needs to create and maintain a data systems for ongoing data analysis and planning," she said, adding that the data should be aggregate and nonconfidential but delineated by age cohorts and outcome metrics such as filings, merits findings and diversion rates.

She also recommended designating an agency or group to monitor implementation so that responsibility does not fall across too many parties. Chester said Vermont—s Department for Children and Families led an inclusive implementation process in 2018 that brought together stakeholders, including courts, defenders, prosecutors, victim groups and community organizations.

Committee members asked about harms from placing young people in the adult system and the racial disparities in outcomes. Chester said research and Vermont—s earlier report show those placed in adult systems have higher recidivism and worse long-term outcomes and that nationally 18- and 19-year-olds have the most pronounced racial disparities of any age group.

Chester concluded that data problems should not hold up phase 2 implementation, because the available evidence shows positive trends and the state has a "very solid foundation" from which to proceed.

The committee took questions after the presentation; no vote or formal action on legislation occurred during the time she spoke.