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House Judiciary committee pauses expansion of juvenile delinquency jurisdiction to 19-year-olds
Summary
Lawmakers debated H.2, which would raise the minimum age for delinquency proceedings and delay the next phase of Vermont’s raise‑the‑age implementation; the committee cited capacity shortfalls at the Department for Children and Families.
The Vermont House on March 14 considered H.2, an act that would change the age thresholds for juvenile delinquency proceedings and pause the planned expansion bringing 19‑year‑olds fully into the family court system.
The bill would raise the minimum age for delinquency proceedings from 10 to 12, repeal a narrow exception that currently allows proceedings against children under 12 for murder, extend certain post‑jurisdiction supervision periods by one year, and delay the next phase of the state’s raise‑the‑age rollout until July 1, 2027, while imposing reporting requirements on the Agency of Human Services.
Supporters said the changes reflect developmental differences between children and adults and respond to a 2024 advisory panel recommendation. The member presenting the committee report said witnesses including the Vermont Defender General’s Office, the Department for Children and Families (DCF), Department of Public Safety, and others offered extensive testimony on the operational and staffing implications of expanding juvenile jurisdiction.
“This change recognizes that children are fundamentally different from adults,” the committee presenter said on the House floor, citing the 2024 report from the racial disparities in the juvenile and criminal justice system advisory panel.
Committee members cited staff shortages and programmatic gaps at DCF as the primary reason for pausing the next implementation step. The presenter said family services had a vacancy rate of 11.4 percent in fiscal 2024 and a turnover rate of 16 percent; committee language deletes the April 1, 2025 implementation date and reenacts statutory language to take effect on July 1, 2027.
The bill also requires AHS to provide periodic progress reports to legislative oversight committees describing steps taken to establish secure residential capacity, expand nonresidential treatment programs, improve recruitment and retention, and specific data on the Red Clover treatment facility. The presenter noted that failure to meet one of the progress goals could not itself justify extending the 07/01/2027 implementation date further.
On the floor, members asked questions and the House recessed for caucuses after the committee presentation; no final passage vote on H.2 was recorded in the transcript.
The committee vote on the version reported to the House was 7‑2‑2. The House recessed for party caucuses following the committee presentation and line‑by‑line report.
