State also leads nation in foster placement with relatives

By Guy Page

Vermont refers children to child welfare services at three times the national rate. It’s also first in the nation in placing foster children with relatives. However, the state’s mandatory reporting system needs updating, and the state’s provision of services to child abuse victims is twice as low as the national average.

Those are a few of the data points driving a Senate-approved bill to review the state’s child welfare system, including child abuse, mandatory reporting. S.239, sponsored by Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (D-Chittenden Central), has been approved by House committees and will go to the House floor Wednesday for initial approval. The bill creates the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Working Group, whose members will receive the state per diem and expenses for up to 12 meetings. The report is due by April, 2027.

According to Child Trends, a research organization focused on improving the lives of children, youth, and families cited in the bill, data shows that from 2022 through 2024 Vermont had a rate of referrals to child welfare services that was over three times higher than the national level, with a rate of referral of 166 per 1,000 children in Vermont compared to 50 per 1,000 children nationally. Only 17 percent of such referrals in Vermont met the criteria for further action via an assessment or investigation compared to 54 percent nationally.

Vermont also is first in the nation in placing foster children with relatives, Child Trends reports.

Leading the nation in foster placement with relatives – In fiscal year 2024, 30 percent of children in foster care in the United States were placed with relatives. At the state level, the figure ranges from 2 percent in Massachusetts to 56 percent in Vermont, largely due to differences in state-level kinship care practices and policies. Over the past 20 years, federal funding and regulations have increasingly promoted kinship care, but each state is responsible for instituting its own kinship care policies—including eligibility and licensing requirements and financial support for kinship caregivers—resulting in a wide range of policies across the country.

Mandatory reporting review needed – The bill concludes that while the General Assembly recently reviewed and revised child abuse and neglect substantiation procedures that occur after a referral has been accepted by the Department for Children and Families, “there has not been a similar review of the training and requirements for mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect to ensure they employ best practices and provide sufficient guidance and resources for mandatory reporters.”

Behind curve nationally in services, once child abuse is reported – Data from Child Trends further shows that post-response servicessuch as mental health services, substance misuse treatment, family therapy, child care, parenting education, and resources to assist families living in poverty were provided to only 28 percent of victims in Vermont compared with the national average of 57 percent.

The bill was approved by both House and Senate committees without any no votes.