Committee keeps DOC as backstop for public incapacitation, orders expansion plan and reporting

The Corrections & Institutions Committee met April 17 and agreed to retain a repeal in S.36 that removes a statutory prohibition on using Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities to house people found publicly incapacitated, while adding amendments to expand community public-incapacitated services and to require reportbacks from state agencies.

Committee members and witnesses told the committee that community “public inebriate” or public-incapacitated programs — the community alternative to holding someone in booking while they sober — have declined in parts of the state and that emergency departments and correctional booking areas have become fallback locations. Committee members said testimony from the Vermont Department of Corrections, law enforcement, emergency department clinicians, and operators of community programs led them to conclude DOC should remain available as a limited backstop while community capacity is rebuilt.

Why it matters: witnesses described three recurring release valves when community capacity fails — hospital emergency departments, remaining unhoused settings, and DOC booking areas — and emphasized public-safety and staff-safety concerns in EDs and correctional settings when community beds are unavailable. The committee’s amendment packages are intended to reduce reliance on DOC over time while ensuring a safe option remains available in the near term.

Key provisions in the committee amendment package include:

- Repeal of the statutory prohibition on using DOC booking areas to house people who are publicly incapacitated, preserving DOC as an available limited option when community alternatives are not available.

- A two-year implementation plan from the Department of Health (VDH) and Department of Mental Health (DMH) to expand community public-incapacitated programs and to explore co-location with existing 24/7 mental-health crisis services. Committee members said co-location is intended to make staffing and 24/7 coverage more feasible for those community programs.

- A request to move Chittenden County from year two to year one of the planned expansion and approval of the governor’s year-one budget funding for initial implementation.

- A requirement that DOC present to the committee by Feb. 15 next year on efforts to reinstate a prior “warm handoff” practice in which DOC staff notify and, where possible, connect an individual leaving a 24-hour booking hold with a community provider so the person can be offered services in their home community rather than simply being released.

Committee discussion and testimony: The committee heard from multiple stakeholders, including DOC operations leadership and local police chiefs, and received testimony from community providers and emergency department clinicians. Witnesses described that public-incapacitated programs have scaled back in places such as Chittenden County, which has increased pressure on EDs and on St. Albans Correctional Center’s booking capacity. Several witnesses and members said community programs remain the preferred option but that DOC serves as a necessary backup when community beds are full or when individuals become violent and require secure supervision.

Language refinement and sensitivity: Committee members said they will adjust statutory language to avoid the term “public inebriate” in favor of a more respectful and accurate phrase reflecting contemporary practice.

Next steps: The committee recorded concurrence with the repeal component of S.36 and adopted the amendments described above; committee staff and the agencies will provide implementation details and the ordered reports at the statutory deadlines. No formal roll-call vote appears in the transcript; committee members described the action as concurrence and amendment adoption during the working session.