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Advocates urge investment in community crisis services, say forensic unit needs careful design
Summary
Witnesses described Vermont’s crisis continuum (988, mobile crisis, urgent-care stabilization) and said that while many providers supported the idea of a forensic facility with caveats, the state must keep investing in community-based outpatient care and address funding gaps for 24/7 crisis coverage.
Witnesses testifying to the Judiciary committee on Jan. 29 outlined Vermont’s existing crisis system and urged lawmakers to prioritize community-based services even as proposals for a forensic facility and competency-restoration capacity move forward.
"The designated agency system and the community based system is robust," said Kelsey Stavsett, executive director of Northeast Kingdom Human Services and co-president of Vermont Care Partners. She listed system components including the 988 lifeline, mobile crisis teams, staff embedded with Vermont State Police, and regional urgent-care facilities that provide walk-in services and short crisis-stabilization stays.
Stavsett said the state’s sequential intercept model aims to divert people from the criminal justice system when appropriate, and that most designated agencies had been "generally in favor" of a forensic unit two years ago but with many caveats about involuntary placement, treatment and liberty.
On funding and contracts, witnesses told the committee there is no automatic right of first refusal for designated agencies to win corrections-related RFPs and that funding structures can make continuous staffing infeasible. "To just have someone available 24/7... is gonna cost you a $100,000," Stavsett said, explaining why some communities shift people to higher-cost hospital care or jail when crisis staffing is unavailable.
Panelists said a limited number of individuals will need more intensive, inpatient forensic support, but emphasized that strengthening outpatient options is the primary approach to reduce criminal-justice involvement for people with mental health and substance use challenges.
There was no committee vote on policy during the session. Legislators signaled they will review anticipated bill language on forensic facilities and competency restoration and invited further testimony from providers and clinical leaders.
