BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – When it comes to residential reentry centers, Senator Peter Welch says the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is leaving Vermont behind.
Vermont is one of only two states that doesn’t have a facility designed to help formerly incarcerated people reenter society with housing, substance use, and unemployment help.
According to Welch, The BOP director said she would consider putting a reentry center in Vermont if the congressional delegation supported it – which it did in a letter in December.
In a hearing yesterday, Welch followed up on what he calls the BOP’s refusal to put a center in the state. He read a letter from the U.S. District Court for Vermont’s Chief Judge, Geoffrey Crawford, that stated the following:
“The lack of facilities in Vermont interferes with every pro-social activity necessary to normal life including long-term employment, connecting with family, and locating housing.”
“Our judges all believe that opening an RRC in Vermont is a significant step towards the improvement of public safety and rehabilitation.”
The BOP said that because so few people are released back into Vermont, it doesn’t make financial sense to put a center in the state.
Welch said the state needs one regardless, and he plans to keep advocating for a residential reentry center.
