Committee reviews H.219 to codify and expand Lund family‑support program for incarcerated parents

Montpelier — On March 13, 2025, the Vermont House Appropriations Committee heard testimony on H.219, legislation that would codify and phase a family‑support program for incarcerated parents and guardians currently operated under contract by Lund at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility and expand similar services to Northern State Correctional Facility with the intent of statewide implementation by 2028.

Benjamin E. Novogrovsky, legislative counsel, told the committee the amended bill “essentially codif[ies] an already existing program” and would change the earlier pilot designation to an established program with phased implementation to achieve gender parity across correctional facilities.

Why it matters: supporters said the program preserves parent‑child contact, supports reentry, and may reduce longer‑term corrections costs. The bill directs the Department of Corrections (DOC) to include sufficient funding for the program in future budget proposals and creates an annual reporting requirement to standing committees to track participation, outcomes and progress toward statewide implementation.

Program background and scope Lund has operated a contract‑based family‑support program in the women’s facility (Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility) for roughly 20 years, according to presenters. Under the bill as originally reported to Appropriations, Section 5 listed two appropriations: $115,424 from the general fund to DOC for the CRCF program and $268,155 from the general fund to DOC to establish and support the program at Northern State, figures the committee discussed as part of the fiscal note.

Fiscal discussion and amendment James Duffy of the Joint Fiscal Office described the fiscal note as a “straightforward fiscal impact.” The fiscal note attached to the version originally sent to Appropriations totaled just under about $390,000 for the two facilities. Committee members discussed using existing Justice Reinvestment (JR2) funds that are currently in the DOC budget rather than new general fund dollars; one presenter said roughly $390,000 was available in that account for reentry‑related purposes this year.

Committee members and other speakers pressed on whether Lund would continue private fundraising to offset costs (Novogrovsky said Lund is seeking to move the program to state funding) and on protections for children and visitation security. The bill text directs DOC to provide family‑friendly visitation spaces and reentry supports but does not prescribe operational details beyond those program goals.

Report language and oversight Section 3 of the bill, as discussed in the hearing, would add a reporting requirement to 28 V.S.A. §128(d) requiring DOC to submit an annual written report on funding, participation and program outcomes to the standing committees of jurisdiction. Committee members said the annual report would be used to inform future budget decisions and statewide rollout planning.

Procedural status and next steps Committee members discussed a pending amendment that would delete the Section 5 appropriations and change the funding source language in the committee report; that amendment was discussed but not voted on in Appropriations during this hearing. Members also noted that the House Corrections & Institutions Committee previously reported the bill out with an amended report; participants in the hearing said that committee’s report recorded a 9‑1‑1 result when it advanced the bill. Appropriations members indicated they would consider the amendment and could hold a straw poll before taking a committee vote at a subsequent meeting.

Ending note No final Appropriations committee vote on the amendment or on H.219 occurred during the March 13 hearing; members said they expected to take further action after allowing time for review of the amendment and to coordinate scheduling of any vote.