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“The Corrections Monitoring Commission, established in 2022 after allegations of sexual misconduct in Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility came to light, quietly expired on July 1 without fulfilling its mandate.
“In 2020, the Vermont Agency of Human Services contracted the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin to conduct an investigation into sexual misconduct at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility — the only women’s prison in Vermont — following a series of stories by Seven Days detailing allegations of sexual misconduct, retaliation and drug use at the facility.
“The articles described instances where Department of Corrections employees preyed on current and former incarcerated women, female officers endured sexual harassment, and those who raised concerns were disregarded or faced retaliation.
The commission would need a better formation to work effectively.
“As a result of the investigation, the law firm released a report that addressed the shortcomings of the Department of Corrections and provided a series of recommendations to address sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. One of the recommendations was to create a monitoring committee to oversee reporting of sexual misconduct, ensure implementation of anti-retaliation policies and improve transparency and accountability.
“While the Department of Corrections has taken some steps by creating an independent hotline for reporting sexual misconduct and expanding resources related to the Prison Rape Elimination Act, the Corrections Monitoring Commission was the primary independent body specifically tasked with overseeing the department’s handling of sexual misconduct.
“The Vermont Legislature established the commission in January 2022, requiring its compositon of eight members: a former judge, a retired attorney, a former corrections officer, two formerly incarcerated individuals, the executive director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence or a designee, a former management-level employee of the Department of Corrections, and an individual with knowledge and experience in the correctional system. None of the members could be actively employed by the Department of Corrections.
“In the first few months, the group developed a governance document and a work plan, but quickly their work started slowing down.
“The Corrections Monitoring Commission was supposed to provide advice to the commissioner of corrections in monitoring reporting of sexual misconduct, implementing policies related to misconduct and anti-retaliation, and reviewing disciplinary actions.
“The commission was also tasked with drafting annual reports that would provide insights on the work of the Department of Corrections, including the way it handled allegations of sexual misconduct and complaints of retaliation; compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act; maintenance of an independent hotline to the State Police for the women at the facility; adhereance to anti-retaliation policies; and investigations of employee misconduct, contraband, threats to personal safety and more.
“But the reports were never produced, according to members of the commission, and the group struggled to understand how to carry out the work mandated by the bill.
“‘The commission had a lot of difficulty getting a quorum together to actually hold meetings, so that was really a major obstacle in the success of the commission,’ said Timothy Burgess [Leading with Conviction™ 2023], the group’s co-chair, an advocate for incarcerated people and himself formerly incarcerated. …
“Another challenge, according to Burgess, was collaboration and information exchange with the Department of Corrections. Burgess said more interaction with the department would have helped identify problems and draft the reports.
“‘The Department of Corrections has really implemented systems to address the issues that were the reason for the commission. However, there is no insight outside of the Department of Corrections to oversee what the implementation is, how effective it is, etcetera,’ Burgess said. …
“In April 2024, Burgess, the Corrections Monitoring Commission co-chair, submitted testimony to the Legislature asking to remove the sunset and extend the duration of the Corrections Monitoring Commission for five more years. … But the topic wasn’t further discussed in the Legislature, and the commission expired. …
“‘The commission would need a better formation to work effectively,’ Burgess said. ‘More exchange of information on what the department sees as problems, more information from the commissioners and interaction with the commissioners on creating the reports. Those things were not done.’”
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