33 V.S.A.''4913(a) and 6903 Counseling Service of Addison County, Inc., 146 Vt. 61 (1985); 28 V.S.A. § 505(b); 28V.S.A. § 204(d); 42 C.F.R. Part 2
This policy establishes the guidelines for the reporting of offender information to courts, state's attorneys, the Vermont Parole Board, the commissioner of Social and Rehabilitative Services, the Commissioner of Aging and Disabilities, other agencies and departments as noted in this policy and third parties.
This policy applies to all Department of Corrections employees, volunteers, and service providers and to all offender information in the control and custody of the Department. Anyone may have a copy of this policy.
Counseling Notes: written comments by DOC employees or health care providers in an offender's mental health records that document the author's hypothesis or opinion about an offender's behavior for future evaluation by the author, and are written solely for the author's future evaluation.
Criminal History Information: documents, forms, reports, or data of a specific offender currently or formerly under supervision by the Department, or currently or formerly confined in any Department correctional facility, that pertain to that offender's involvement in the criminal justice system, including but not limited to arrest/search warrants, court orders, indictments, information or formal charges, presentence reports, Intermediate Sanction Reports, pre-parole reports, supervisory history of probationers and parolees, investigations, pleadings in criminal proceedings, pleas, motions, citations, summons, appearance bonds, notice/receipts of bail, a court order or mittimus, and records of judicial proceedings.
Foreseeable Risk of Harm: a case-by-case determination by department employees in consultation with treatment providers and others involved in the offender's case planning that is based upon:
Information: any statement, whether or not it is in writing, that pertains to a specific offender.
Intermediate Sanction Report: the Intermediate Sanction Report (ISR) is a statute mandated, court ordered assessment of offender criminogenic risk/need and the planned correctional response to controlling that risk/need. It is considered, regardless of format, the equivalent of a pre-sentence investigation.
Non-Confidential Information:
Offender: any person convicted of a crime of offense who is placed in the care, custody, or supervision of the Vermont Department of Corrections.
Presentence Report: any written report prepared by DOC employees and provided to a judge that contains a recommendation for a sentence and factual information pertaining to the offender and/or victim.
Reporting: any communication of offender information that is made by a DOC employee, volunteer, agent or contractor that is required by law or this policy whether or not a request for such information is made.
Serious Risk of Danger: a case-by-case determination by a therapist, a medical professional, mental health professional, or other person as defined in 12 V.S.A. § 1612(a) that is based upon:
Service Provider: an employee, agency or department providing a service to offenders pursuant to an agreement or contract with the Vermont Department of Corrections.
Special Relationship: a relationship between an offender and a third party that has been established as a result of the supervision of the offender by the Department; e.g. a special relationship may exist between a third party and the DOC if an offender is required or allowed to work or live with the third party.
Supervising Employees: DOC staff and employees who are tasked with monitoring offenders, or involved in directly working with, or supervision, offenders in the community.
Treatment Notes: any written notes used in the Department's programs for offenders that address need areas such as violence, sexual deviancy, or drug/alcohol abuse.
Treatment notes would include daily journals, thinking reports, treatment group or review form, treatment team log book, relapse prevention plans, sexual autobiographies, and references or documentation pertaining to identifiable victims.
Department employees, volunteers, and service providers shall report offender information to state officials and third parties in the following situations:
The determination of a foreseeable risk of harm is a question of fact that should be determined on a case-by-case basis. Those usually involved in the determination include supervising employees, any employees or service providers working with the offender in a treatment program, and any caseworkers involved in the offender's case planning. the Department's Legal Division should be consulted where the issue of foreseeable risk of harm is unclear.
If an offender is serving a sentence for any violent or sexual offense involving a minor as a victim, the Department of SRS shall be notified of the offender's name, current offense, identity of supervising officer, and place of residence and employment.
Department employees, volunteers, and service providers are encouraged to seek guidance at any time from the Department's Legal Division whenever there is a question about the application of this policy in a given situation.
13-017 Code Vt. R. 13-130-017-X