Vermont recovery centers ask Corrections & Institutions committee for $1.6 million boost to expand coaching and jail outreach

Tracy Hauck, executive director of the Turning Point Center in Rutland, told the Corrections & Institutions Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 19, that Recovery Partners of Vermont is asking for an additional $1.6 million in base funding for local recovery organizations in the state fiscal year 2026 budget.

Hauck said the requested funds — which she clarified are a general‑fund appropriation being considered by the Appropriations Committee and were not included in the governor’s proposed FY26 budget — would allow centers to expand hours, match outside funding, and pay competitive wages to recruit and retain more recovery coaches.

Why it matters: Recovery coaches provide one‑on‑one support and group facilitation in emergency departments, outpatient treatment programs, law enforcement interactions, schools, colleges and correctional facilities, speakers said. Committee members and witnesses described gaps in continuity of care when people leave jail or prison, limits in Medicaid activation and pharmacy access, and a shortage of trained coaches that constrains outreach capacity.

Hauck said local recovery organizations have “scaled this resource significantly in the past year” with state funding awarded in fiscal 2025 but that demand still outpaces available staff. “Most of the recovery centers are poised and ready to expand services, but lack the revenue to do this without state support,” she said. Hauck said Turning Point Rutland has a staff of about 13 people and that most positions are recovery coaches; the center matches coached clients with a coach for an hour‑long weekly meeting and additional contact as needed.

Peers and staff who testified described how coaches work in different settings. Robert Blaze, who testified by Zoom and said he first connected with Turning Point while incarcerated, told the committee the coaching relationship continued to be important after release: “They had they helped me stay sober and gave me an avenue of a place to go when I got out to for people that actually cared about people like me.”

Dylan Johnson, a recovery coach at Turning Point Center of Bennington, described program work with probation and in emergency departments and called the efforts “the cutting edge of recovery work in Vermont.” He told the committee his path from client to coach helped him connect with people in corrections and probation who are often “least served and most disenfranchised.”

Committee members pressed witnesses on several operational issues. Speakers said recovery coaches increasingly partner with medication‑assisted treatment (MAT) providers and that centers have begun work inside correctional facilities and in probation groups. One witness said an example probation group of eight men included three on buprenorphine (Suboxone) and one who receives daily methadone. Witnesses described problems when Medicaid coverage or pharmacy access lapses after release, creating interruptions in prescribed MAT doses.

Testimony also covered outreach to people experiencing homelessness, connections to transitional housing programs (Grace House, V4 House, Jenna’s Promise, McBee House), and partnerships with local clinics and multidisciplinary outreach teams. Hauck said Turning Point is beginning two hours per week of on‑site coaching at Bradford Psychiatric Associates (a community provider shifting to the name Meadowbrook Health Services) and that some centers provide Narcan training and have contributed to training at the Vermont State Police Academy and the Vermont Corrections Academy.

Speakers emphasized the workforce model used by many centers: recruiting people who have received services, offering front‑desk or volunteer roles, then training those individuals via a recovery coach academy and promoting them into paid coach positions. Hauck said the centers often lack openings to hire new coaches even as they need to expand capacity, and that increased base funding would allow centers to offer competitive wages and develop coaches from people they serve.

No formal action was recorded during the hearing. Hauck told the committee the $1.6 million request resides in the general‑fund appropriation process and will be considered by the Appropriations Committee; she said it was not included in the governor’s proposed FY26 budget.

The committee heard about persistent alcohol‑use disorder in emergency‑department referrals; one witness said Turning Point in Bennington sees alcohol‑related cases about two‑thirds of the time in its ER referrals. Witnesses and committee members agreed that substance‑use presentations are often polysubstance and that addressing recovery requires multiple pathways — harm reduction, MAT, abstinence‑based supports and peer recovery coaching.

The committee did not vote on funding. Members said the testimony was helpful and indicated further consideration will take place as budget deliberations continue.