Committee finds H.105 favorable after debate over juvenile defense, Title IV‑E funding

The Judiciary Committee on Feb. 28 voted to find House bill H.105 favorable as amended by draft 2.1 after a discussion focused on public defense in CHINS (child welfare) proceedings and the potential to draw down federal Title IV‑E funds to expand interdisciplinary representation.

Ben Novogrovsky, of the Office of Legislative Counsel, told the committee the staff had prepared draft 2.1 of a strike‑all amendment and included parentheticals in the repeal section to explain laws being folded into the bill. "I have included in the repeal section just parentheticals describing the laws that are being repealed because aspects of them are being rolled into this bill," Novogrovsky said.

The hearing then turned to competing accounts of how juvenile child‑welfare defense currently operates in Vermont. Marshall Paul, chief defender in the Office of the Defender General, told the committee that many factual statements made in prior testimony were inaccurate and laid out how his office staffs and pays CHINS representation. "We have about 15 public defenders who primarily represent parents and children, and about 40 more contractors who represent parents or children in the same cases," Paul said,…