[M]ore than a year after the deaths of two Vermont toddlers, lawmakers reached a deal on legislation that makes wide-reaching reforms to the child protection system.
Members of the House and Senate shook hands on S.9 Friday after ironing out the differences between their two versions of the bill. The legislation now goes to the governor’s desk.
The bill changes the state’s policy priority for case management of children who have been abused and neglected. Social workers with the Department for Children and Families must shift away from a policy that focuses on reunifying children with their birth parents and consider child safety first.
The legislation clarifies policies for mandatory child abuse and neglect reporters, changes confidentiality restrictions to allow better communication, and aligns definitions within the Department for Children and Families with law enforcement.
“The really integral elements of this bill were things that we agreed on from the beginning,” Rep. Ann Pugh, D-South Burlington, chair of the House Human Services Committee, said.
The reforms were developed by a legislative study committee that last year examined the effectiveness of state’s child protection system in the wake of the deaths of Dezirae Sheldon, 2, and Peighton Geraw, 14 months. Both children’s families had been in contact with social workers from the Department for Children and Families.
The biggest difference between the two chambers was the handling of criminal offenses related to child protection: the Senate proposed a new crime, failure to protect a child, while the House did not make any changes to current laws.
The Senate conceded the new criminal designation and a proposal to establish new penalties for exposing a child to the manufacture of methamphetamine.
The final version of the bill adds an enhanced penalty of $20,000 and 10 years in prison if the abuse results in death or serious injury. Lawmakers also agreed to add an affirmative defense, intended to protect victims of domestic violence from being charged with a felony.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who led the Senate side of the negotiations, praised the compromise.
“No law will prevent cruelty to children, but I think we have equipped the state to be better able to respond when children are abused,” Sears said.
Sears said that one of the most important parts of the new law will be removing the “cones of silence” that keep different parties involved in a case from speaking to each other.
The law prohibiting cruelty to a child originated in the 19th century. Pugh said it “makes sense to bring it into the 21st century.”
Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said the legislation will help future victims of abuse.
“We know it’s been on the books for quite a while but I think that just the process of working on this bill will have prosecutors look at it more and perhaps use it,” Grad said.
DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz said S.9 clarifies the role of special investigative units and allows more communication between social workers and other child protection advocates.
“The changes that are included in this bill will help all of us to improve the functioning of the child protection system,” Schatz said.
