Vermont Governor Proposes Adding Staff & Expanding Substance Use Screening Program To Combat Increase In Child Welfare Cases

On December 3, 2015, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin announced a proposal for new child welfare services, with new funding, to address a 40% increase in child welfare cases between 2013 and 2015. The number of children in state custody increased from 982 in September 2013 to 1,373 in September 2015. The proposal calls for statewide expansion of a pilot Department for Children and Families (DCF) substance abuse screening program and adding staff to reduce caseloads from 17.7 families per case worker down to 15 per case worker by 2018. The Governor’s proposal costs about $8.4 million . . .