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Union urges caution on siting forensic facility, warns chronic understaffing will undermine care and safety
Summary
Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association, testified that chronic understaffing, extended 12–16 hour shifts, lockdowns and mandatory overtime have left correctional facilities unsafe and ill‑prepared to host a forensic unit; he urged the committee to slow siting decisions, require robust data and hold regular oversight hearings.
Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association (VSEA), told the Corrections & Institutions Committee that the state needs a forensic facility but should not place it inside an existing correctional facility while staffing and safety problems persist.
"We support a forensic facility. We need a forensic facility in this state for 2 reasons," Howard said, later adding, "We think the Department of Corrections has too much on its plate now." He described repeated lockdowns,…
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