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LCAR approves DAIL rule adding emergency and involuntary procedures for River Valley secure recovery facility
Summary
The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved final amendments to 24P35 to align therapeutic community residence licensing rules with statutes and Department of Mental Health standards, authorizing emergency and voluntary procedures, including involuntary medication, at the secure residential recovery facility River Valley.
The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules on Jan. 30 approved final proposed amendments to rule 24P35, updating licensing and operating regulations for therapeutic community residences to incorporate emergency and voluntary procedures for a secure residential recovery facility known as River Valley.
Stuart Sher, general counsel for the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, told the committee the changes are required by recent legislation and mirror Department of Mental Health standards. "The rule is not arbitrary," Sher said, adding that the amendments incorporate language the Legislature directed DAIL to include and adopt in consultation with the Department of Mental Health.
The rulemaking stems from statutory authority in 33 V.S.A. § 7117 and from a 2024 legislative directive in Act 137 that required the DAIL Commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Mental Health, to adopt rules authorizing emergency and voluntary procedures — including administration of involuntary medication — at the secure residential recovery facility River Valley, which is operated by the Department of Mental Health. Sher said the rule must be adopted in a manner identical to DMH rules governing emergency and voluntary procedures in psychiatric inpatient units; those standards were last adopted in 2016.
DAIL held a virtual public hearing on Oct. 15, 2024; Sher told the committee no members of the public attended the hearing and no written comments were received during the public comment period. Sher also said the department made a substantive addition after the initial filing: the secure residential recovery facility must submit monthly summaries of emergency and voluntary procedures to DAIL's licensing agency to enhance oversight. Sher described later edits as technical and for clarity, many suggested by Legislative Counsel.
Committee discussion on the item was brief. A committee member moved approval of the final proposed rule as modified by a memorandum dated Jan. 13, 2025; a second was not recorded in the transcript. The committee voiced its assent and the chair called for the ayes.
The approved rule updates DAIL licensing requirements specifically for secure residential recovery facilities and adopts procedural standards consistent with existing DMH regulation. The department said the change was narrowly tailored to fulfill the Legislature's direction and to provide oversight mechanisms through monthly reporting.
The committee recorded the approval; there was no recorded public opposition or requests for further changes during the Jan. 30 meeting.
