Vermont Statutes
Chapter 11 - Supervision of Adult Inmates at the Correctional Facilities
§ 907. Mental health service for inmates; powers and responsibilities of Commissioner

§ 907. Mental health service for inmates; powers and responsibilities of Commissioner
The Commissioner shall administer a program of trauma-informed mental health services that shall be available to all inmates and shall provide adequate staff to support the program. The program shall provide the following services:
(1)(A) Within 24 hours of admittance to a correctional facility, all inmates shall be screened for any signs of mental illness, mental condition, psychiatric disability or disorder, or serious functional impairment. If as a result of the screening it is determined that the inmate is receiving services under the developmental disabilities home- and community-based services waiver or is currently receiving community rehabilitation and treatment services, he or she will automatically be designated as having a serious functional impairment.
(B) Every inmate who is identified as a result of screening by a mental health professional as requiring inpatient evaluation, treatment, or services shall, within 48 hours of the screening, be provided with such treatment, evaluation, or services in a setting appropriate to the clinical needs of the inmate.
(2) A thorough trauma-informed evaluation, conducted in a timely and reasonable fashion by a qualified mental health professional, which includes a review of available medical and psychiatric records. The evaluation shall be made of each inmate who:
(A) has a history of a mental condition or psychiatric disability or disorder;
(B) has received community rehabilitation and treatment services; or
(C) shows signs or symptoms of a mental condition or psychiatric disability or disorder or of serious functional impairment at the initial screening or as observed subsequent to entering the facility.
(3) The development and implementation of an individual treatment plan, when a clinical diagnosis by a qualified mental health professional indicates an inmate has a mental condition or psychiatric disability or disorder or from serious functional impairment. The treatment plan shall be developed in accordance with best practices and explained to the inmate by a qualified mental health professional.
(4) Access to a variety of services and levels of care consistent with the treatment plan to inmates with a mental condition or psychiatric disability or disorder or serious functional impairment. These services shall include, as appropriate, the following:
(A) Follow-up evaluations.
(B) Crisis intervention.
(C) Crisis beds.
(D) Residential care within a correctional institution.
(E) Clinical services provided within the general population of the correctional facility.
(F) Services provided in designated special needs units.
(G) As a joint responsibility with the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, and working with designated agencies, the implementation of discharge planning that coordinates access to services for which the offender is eligible, developed in a manner that is guided by best practices and consistent with the reentry case plan developed under subsection 1(b) of this title.
(H) Other services that the Department of Corrections, the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, and the Department of Mental Health jointly determine to be appropriate.
(5) Proactive procedures to seek and identify any inmate who has not received the enhanced screening, evaluation, and access to mental health services appropriate for inmates with a mental condition or psychiatric disability or disorder or a serious functional impairment.
(6) Special training to medical and correctional staff to enable them to identify and initially deal with inmates with a mental illness or disorder or a serious functional impairment. This training shall include the following:
(A) Recognition of signs and symptoms of a mental condition or psychiatric disability or disorder or a serious functional impairment in the inmate population.
(B) Recognition of signs and symptoms of chemical dependence and withdrawal.
(C) Recognition of adverse reactions to psychotropic medication.
(D) Recognition of improvement in the general condition of the inmate.
(E) Recognition of developmental disability.
(F) Recognition of mental health emergencies and specific instructions on contacting the appropriate professional care provider and taking other appropriate action.
(G) Suicide potential and prevention.
(H) Precise instructions on procedures for mental health referrals.
(I) Any other training determined to be appropriate. (Added 1993, No. 224 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1995, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2007, No. 15, § 22; 2009, No. 26, § 2; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 190; 2017, No. 78, § 5; 2017, No. 78, § 6, eff. July 1, 2019.)

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