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Judiciary members discuss scaling probation-run work crew program; Rutland cited as example
Summary
Members of the House Judiciary Committee discussed a corrections-run work crew program operating in Rutland with 12 participants and planned a follow-up meeting with prosecutors, the defender general's office and judiciary representatives to evaluate statewide expansion.
Committee members discussed a corrections-run work crew program that the Department of Corrections reported can be run out of probation and expanded to every county without purchasing equipment or significant state expense.
Members said Rutland has operated a program with about 12 participants; the committee was told the program can count treatment or education toward participation as well as traditional community-service tasks. A committee member summarized the corrections description: the program functions like an approved furlough so that participants who do not comply can be returned to custody.
Tom Giffin, identified in the transcript as president of the Vermont Cemetery Association, was cited as a local user of work-crew placements and described by members as having placed many participants in the past. Committee members suggested the program could support local needs such as cemetery upkeep, bridge and carpentry work, and other maintenance projects.
Members agreed to pursue a follow-up meeting of an automation/work-crew work group that would include representatives from corrections, state attorneys, the defender general's office, Judge Zener (mentioned in the transcript), and the two committee chairs to assess whether the model meets approval and how it should be used.
No formal committee vote was recorded on program expansion during the meeting; members discussed next steps for outreach and a possible meeting next Thursday to explore implementation and stakeholder buy-in.
