Vermont DOC: incapacitated people taken after ER screening are held up to 24 hours as community beds vanish

The Vermont Department of Corrections receives people described as “incapacitated” after an emergency department screening and holds them for medical and safety monitoring, often for up to 24 hours, DOC Chief of Operations Al Cormier told the House Corrections and Institutions Committee on April 29.

Those encounters are not part of the department's offender-management system and, DOC staff said, are increasingly frequent as community treatment beds and designated agencies have cut services or closed.

Why it matters: The practice places security and medical responsibilities on corrections staff for people who are not adjudicated, the department says, and statutory rules limit the length of hold periods. Committee members questioned liability, costs and whether a legislative solution or more community funding is needed.

“The incapacitated population … we take that population in at the request of a law enforcement agency after they have been screened in an emergency room, and found to need further care and custody for their own safety,” Al Cormier said. He added that the department tracks health and welfare…