Montpelier — Vermont’s chief public defender says the housing of some of the state’s inmates in a Pennsylvania prison is making it “much more difficult” for his lawyers to communicate with their clients. Defender General Matthew Valerio told Vermont Public Radio that the transfer to the Camp Hill prison over the summer was causing more problems than previous out-of-state incarceration agreements.

“So far, this Pennsylvania placement has been far and away the most difficult to get access to the inmates to find out what’s going on down there and address whatever needs they might have, or even just to address their ongoing legal issues that they have in Vermont,” Valerio said.

Valerio said the problems have persisted despite efforts to reach an agreement with Pennsylvania prison officials. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections said staff at the Camp Hill prison had given the defender general’s staff greater access to prison staff as part of its visitor policy, including “the exclusive use of attorney/client visiting rooms for its pre-scheduled visits.”

It said the defender general had not communicated any concerns with the process and that representatives of the defender general’s office had only visited the prison twice since August.

For years Vermont has sent hundreds of prison inmates to out-of-state prisons to alleviate overcrowding in the state’s facilities. This summer about 280 inmates were transferred to Pennsylvania from a private prison in Michigan.