Committee advances H.582 to align neglect definition with federal APS rules; markup and vote planned

The Housing and Services Committee on Thursday reviewed H.582, a bill that would rewrite Vermont's adult protective services statute to redefine "neglect," revise where reports of alleged neglect are filed, and change appeal timeframes. Legislative counsel and department witnesses said the bill is intended to bring state law into compliance with a new federal APS rule and to preserve federal funding that supports APS operations.

Legislative counsel Jen Harvey told the committee the draft is a strike-all that overhauls the statute's definition section. "The failure of a caregiver, agent, or fiduciary to provide the goods or services that are necessary to maintain the health or safety or both of a vulnerable adult" would be the operative definition of neglect, she said, while clarifying that self-neglect is excluded and that actions taken under an advance directive are not neglect.

Joan Esbaum, director of the Division of Licensing and Protection, said the bill's primary purpose is federal alignment. "The first is updating the definition of neglect to bring it in compliance with federal rules," Esbaum said, and added that federal reviewers indicated Vermont needed changes to meet the national standard. Department witnesses told the committee failing to meet the federal rule could…