A proposal to replace the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Essex with a new $23.3 million facility received a warm reception from a House panel on Wednesday, even though it won’t result in renewed federal funding to help pay for programs.
And even if approved this legislative session, a new juvenile center still would be at least three years away from opening, according to testimony on Wednesday before the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions.
“I think I can say for the committee, and if I’m wrong someone correct me, but I think Woodside is a priority for this committee,” said Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, the committee’s chairwoman.
“I say that because we need to address a deficient building and our youth should not be traumatized anymore,” Emmons said. “The sooner we can act the better.”
The committee took no action on Wednesday, but Emmons did say she was awaiting action from other legislative panels that still need to weigh in on the future of Woodside.
Last fall, the state decided to no longer pursue its two-year effort to secure federal funding to help cover the costs of running the facility, with the federal government saying the facility didn’t meet its criteria for a psychiatric residential treatment facility provider.
As a result, the facility was not eligible for the roughly $2.6 million in annual Medicaid funding it received in the past to help pay for the roughly $6 million cost of running the center.
Ken Schatz, commissioner of the Department for Children and Families, told the House committee that the decision regarding the federal funds prompted officials to look at Woodside’s future.
Options considered included:
■ no secure facility for Vermont youth in state;
■ a smaller 15-bed facility used for detention or short-term placement;
■ a 30-day facility that allows for short- and long-term treatment, with locked and unlocked areas.