AHS presents Act 119 review to Senate panel, defers legislative changes until next cycle
Loading...
Summary
Agency of Human Services told the Senate Committee on Government Operations that its Act 119 report (delivered Nov. 2025) summarizes outreach to more than 1,000 participants and sets a three-tier plan of recommendations; AHS said it will not pursue new legislation this year while it pursues internal change management and consultation.
On Feb. 4, 2026, the Agency of Human Services told the Vermont Senate Committee on Government Operations that its Act 119 legislative report lays out a three-tier structure of recommendations and a plan for implementing internal improvements, but the agency will not submit new legislative proposals this year.
"We took this report incredibly seriously," said the lead presenter for AHS, who presented the report to the committee and explained the agencyapproach to continuous improvement. Jacqueline Bolden, director of performance and improvement, said the project ran from September 2024 through a final report in November 2025 and included outreach to "over 1,000 participants" across staff, partners and people who use AHS services.
The report organizes recommendations into three tiers. Tier 1 items are framed as high-level questions that could require legislative authority; Tier 2 items are agency-wide change initiatives that may affect future budgets but do not necessarily require immediate statutory change; Tier 3 items are department- or program-level improvements that AHS said it can pursue internally. The presenters used modest operational exampleseven joking about changing hold musicto illustrate how Tier 3 differs from structural proposals.
AHS also described several program-level findings. On the Department for Children and Families, the agency said it heard repeated concerns about workload and coordination across economic services, family services and child development, but concluded it was not yet recommending structural reorganization. "We are not making a recommendation in structural changes this time," the presenter said, adding that the agency will focus on strengthening coordination and resourcing.
During questioning, senators pressed whether the recommendations were reflected in budget planning and whether AHS had the capacity to implement changes. The lead presenter said budget and staffing decisions are handled through the agency's budget development process and that the agency would consult with the legislature as it refines proposals and timelines.
The report also addresses corrections and community-based work. AHS recommended keeping the Department of Corrections within the Agency of Human Services, citing field coordination with probation, parole and other divisions. Presenters said they did not directly interview incarcerated people during the review but relied on existing DOC feedback mechanisms.
AHS told the committee it plans to continue internal prioritization and to return with status updates as work progresses. The committee concluded the hearing and left follow-up requests for more granular work-plan and staffing information.
Next steps: AHS will continue implementation planning, consult stakeholders and provide updates to the Senate Committee on Government Operations; the agency did not ask the committee for any statutory changes at this session.
