Health Department proposes new recovery beds, aftercare navigators and expanded prevention funded by cannabis tax

Mark Levine, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, told appropriators the department seeks to expand prevention and improve transitions within the substance-use treatment system through a mix of special funds and targeted investments.

Levine said the governor’s budget would replace a current $3 million general-fund appropriation for substance-misuse prevention with $6.75 million from a new substance-misuse prevention special fund financed by cannabis excise-tax revenue and noted that cannabis revenues could grow toward an estimated upper bound of about $10 million annually.

Deputy Commissioner Kelly Dougherty described three proposed operational initiatives intended to reduce gaps between levels of care: short-term reengagement or stabilization beds at existing residential facilities, three aftercare navigator positions (one for each major residential provider), and a 15-bed pilot recovery campus designed to combine treatment, recovery services, life skills and employment supports. Dougherty said the reengagement beds would be available for short stays (for example, about seven days) to stabilize residents who relapse and to hold a recovery-housing bed while the individual stabilizes. She described aftercare navigator roles as employees of the residential providers rather than state-level positions and said the pilot recovery campus would be funded initially with a $500,000 start-up request and $1,000,000 in ongoing operating funds.

Levine also described a current $1,050,000 appropriation drawn from the opioid-abatement special fund for syringe-service program grants. He said state statute governing that special fund requires an annual spending plan to be submitted to the General Assembly and noted an agreement to process this year’s recommendations as a separate bill considered by appropriations committees first.

Committee members asked how the proposals align with court and justice-system priorities. Dougherty said aftercare navigators and the proposed recovery campus are the most directly relevant pieces to support people who are justice-involved, and she noted the Department of Corrections is separately advancing related pilots such as expanded pretrial supervision in some communities.

Members also asked about timeline and procurement: staff said the department issued a request for information and will follow with an RFP to identify a site for the recovery-campus pilot; decisions about recurring funding and detailed implementation would follow committee and legislative review. The committee did not vote on the proposals at the hearing.

The department framed the investments as targeted steps to reduce recidivism and improve retention through better transitions between residential treatment, recovery housing and outpatient services. Dougherty said the measures are intended to “help people as they're transitioning out of residential treatment, helping them to make the connections that they need,” and Levine emphasized the approach builds on Vermont’s existing hub-and-spoke outpatient system.