Department of Mental Health tells appropriations committee state has about 229 psychiatric beds; committee hears near $2 million pressure for youth residentials

The House Appropriations Committee on Jan. 16 heard Department of Mental Health leaders outline Vermont’s inpatient and community mental health system and reviewed Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) items that would shift and increase spending in the current year.

“ We have around 229 beds across the state of Vermont, for inpatient psychiatric care,” said Emily Haws, commissioner for the Department of Mental Health. She described that total as including youth and adult units at hospitals and a 25‑bed state facility in Berlin, the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed officials about rising costs for youth residential placements, staffing and centralized IT charges because those items affect the current fiscal year budget and planning for FY26. Department staff said some increases reflect utilization and late‑reported rate‑setting changes rather than new policy changes.

Overview of capacity and crisis services

Haws and deputy officials described a “pyramid” of care: hospital‑level inpatient units (including adult and youth units at Brattleboro Retreat, UVM Medical Center, Rutland Regional Medical Center, Springfield/Wyndham Center and Central Vermont Medical Center while that unit remains open); a secure residential facility (River…