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Corrections Seeks One-Time Funding for Reentry IT Work and to Backfill Prison Industries Fund Deficit
Summary
The Vermont Department of Corrections asked the Senate Appropriations Committee on Jan. 23 for capacity-building funds to modify IT systems for an approved 1115 Medicaid waiver reentry initiative and requested a one-time $3.1 million backfill for a deficit in the Correctional Industries/Offender Work Program fund.
Kristen Tower, deputy commissioner for the Vermont Department of Corrections, and Linda Bradley, financial director, informed the Senate Appropriations Committee on Jan. 23 that the department needs funding to support recent changes in reentry services under a newly approved Section 1115 waiver and requested a $3,100,000 one-time backfill for the Vermont Correctional Industries (DCI) and Vermont Offender Work Program (BOWP) fund deficit.
The reentry request covers capacity-building to modify the department's vendor management system and electronic health record to support the 1115 waiver, which the department said will provide pre-release services up to 90 days and post-release care management, including medication screenings and reentry care coordination.
Tower described the IT adjustments as necessary to onboard pre-release enrollment and to ensure data flows between corrections and Medicaid services; Linda Bradley said the funds are for vendor management and EHR modifications to enable the reentry model. "These are capacity building funds to make changes to our vendor management system and our electronic health record to support that work," Tower said.
On the Vermont Correctional Industries and Offender Work Program fund, Bradley explained that the department previously operated multiple manufacturing shops and work crews that produced revenue and provided wages-savings opportunities for incarcerated individuals. Over time the department transitioned away from wood manufacturing and other product lines because of shrinking markets; COVID-related disruptions and decommissioning of several shops reduced revenue while obligations (including payroll-savings match commitments) and transition costs produced a deficit.
Bradley described DCI as previously allowing incarcerated individuals to save wages in a trust account, with the department matching up to $4,000 on departure for qualifying individuals; the program also provided vocational opportunities through shops (wood, print, sign/steel). Revenue declines and the strategic decision to pivot toward a vocational-training model left the fund with a projected $3.1 million shortfall the department requested to backfill as a one-time appropriation.
The department also noted minor additional requests tied to ADS SLA true-ups and other service charges. Committee members asked whether the backfill was included in the administration's package; staff said it was part of the one-time language and that the department would provide supporting documentation.
Ending: Corrections officials said the 1115 waiver work and the DCI fund backfill are one-time needs to support reentry program launches and to resolve a legacy operating deficit tied to program transitions. The committee did not take a formal recorded vote on these requests during the session.
