Governor Phil Scott has tasked a Violence Prevention Task Force to develop a longer-term prevention strategy that prioritizes early interventions for children and families.
Reconstituting this task force is a component of the Governor’s 10-Point public safety enhancement and violence prevention action plan, which was issued in August. It will be comprised of a group of senior executive branch officials and chaired by the director of violence prevention, Dee Barbic, who was appointed to the new role in September.
The Task Force is charged with:
- Coordinating policy implementation across state government to help address violence against others in schools and communities;
- Identifying needed reform of existing laws, regulations, policies and programs and propose appropriate legislative and programmatic changes to adequately prevent violent crimes and hold offenders accountable; and
- Coordinating federal funding opportunities to better prevent suicide and community violence, facilitate better use of ERPO implementation/enhancements and significantly improve school safety and school violence prevention.
The Violence Prevention Task Force will be advisory to the Governor and will report to him regularly on its view of the effectiveness of violence prevention policy.