by VDC Staff

Information for In Committee news reports are sourced from GoldenDomeVt.com and the General Assembly website. 

The House Committee on Judiciary on Thursday discussed pretrial supervision as a way to reduce criminal court backlogs, recidivism, and catch and release policies. 

The committee heard testimony and updates about Vermont’s pilot project for the pretrial supervision program. The pilot program was created by S.195 (Act 138) in 2024. Due to an increase in poverty and violent crime, the state’s judicial system has been under tremendous pressure from the public to address prison overcrowding, increase court appearances, and prevent further criminal activities in the community while waiting for court dates. These issues resulted in the novel pilot project that targets high-risk individuals and works closely with them to address their basic needs. 

The pilot project was launched in two Vermont counties in early 2025, Orleans County and Essex County, and state data reports that there were 560 people enrolled in pretrial supervision in 2025. This limited rollout gave stakeholders the opportunity to give feedback and finetune the program 

before statewide implementation. In January, the Department of Corrections partnered with the Council of State Governments (CSG), a national nonpartisan nonprofit, to identify structural flaws with the program and provide recommendations. The testimony on Thursday was the result of this analysis. 

Testifying to the committee was Ellen Whelan-Wuest, Deputy Division Director of State Initiatives with CSG, and she reported a few major hurdles for the viability of the program: eligibility and the referral process, lack of DOC staffing to effectively implement the program, and a lack of coordination between the various departments. She also testified that there has been excellent cooperation between the different stakeholders including state’s attorneys, defense attorneys, and community service providers. 

Eligibility in the program is set in state statute and defendants are only eligible if they’ve been charged with violating a condition of release, or if they have at least five pending dockets and they pose a risk of failing to appear, or harming themselves or others. Then a defendant’s attorney must file an application for pretrial supervision, which must be reviewed and approved by a judge. Whelan-Wuest told the committee that these guidelines prevent use of the program by individuals who would probably benefit more from it, and that the process is an unnecessary bottleneck. 

Observations from the pilot counties made apparent a lack of staffing to operate the program effectively. According to testimony, pretrial clients require “intensive supervision and intervention to ensure they comply with release conditions and connect to community-based treatment and programs that address their underlying needs.” A lack of staffing prevents adequate supervision, case management, and connecting with support services. The recommended solution to this is to increase funding and hire more staff to manage case loads of no more than twenty defendants. 

The testimony from CSG on Thursday placed particular emphasis on the need to address underlying behavioral and social determinants of crime, including poverty, substance abuse, mental health challenges, and deeply entrenched “criminal behavior and thinking”. 

According to the report issued by the Council of State Governments, connecting pretrial participants with community-based services is cost-effective and holistic by treating criminal activity at its source. “Perhaps most importantly, community-based programs address the underlying drivers of criminal behavior rather than simply responding to its symptoms. By focusing on the underlying causes, such as substance use, mental health issues, and criminal thinking, these programs aim to reduce future offending at its source. This preventive approach represents a fundamental shift from punishment to rehabilitation, offering individuals the tools and support they need to build stable, law-abiding lives within their communities.”