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Victim urges action as committee debates forensic facility, competency restoration and oversight
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Summary
At the Corrections & Institutions hearing, victim advocate Kelly Carroll urged lawmakers to close gaps in competency restoration and placement, citing multiple cases; Department and legislative counsel witnesses described models, statutory definitions (SFI), oversight questions and timelines for a forensic facility slated for phased implementation starting Jan. 1, 2028.
Kelly Carroll, who identified herself as the mother of a victim, delivered an emotional, detailed account of what she described as systemic failures in Vermont’s handling of people found not competent or whose competency is ‘fluid.’ Carroll recounted a timeline of cases, including what she described as repeated releases and failures in competency-restoration follow-up and said victims and families have been left without clear notice or recourse. "If bringing the real world result and reminding this body of the these consequences... let me just go right on the record as saying I am proud to be irrelevant," Carroll said, adding that her daughter was murdered after the system failed.
Dr. Jill Bowen, commissioner for the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), told the committee she recognizes a narrow forensic gap in Vermont’s care continuum and described models used elsewhere where perimeter security is provided by corrections and clinical care by hospital or mental-health authorities. Bowen said successful models require evidence-informed clinical teams, training and formal oversight rather than assuming one agency can provide all needed services.
Katie McLennan of the Office of Legislative Counsel reviewed statutory language and definitions the committee will consider, notably the 'serious functional impairment' (SFI) designation, which the counsel’s office described as a correctional designation (not a clinical diagnosis) limited to people while they are in correctional custody and accompanied by transfer and involuntary-treatment procedures. McLennan summarized transfer rules between corrections and the mental-health system and court processes for involuntary medication.
Committee members pressed about where authority and reporting lines should sit (DOC custody vs. AHS oversight), whether existing correctional facilities must be renovated to meet a therapeutic standard, oversight of private contractors (several members raised concerns about Wellpath and contract compliance), and how victims are notified about custody or release decisions. The bill under discussion phases in a forensic facility by Jan. 1, 2028, and committee members asked agencies to return with operational plans; staff and members also requested a smaller working group to review draft bill language line-by-line before moving forward.
No formal vote occurred; committee leaders said they will seek additional technical detail, coordinate with Human Services and Judiciary committees, and expect agency witnesses (including DOC) to return for follow-up.
