Committee presses DCF for operating-costs, seeks reporting before FY27 spending on Green Mountain Youth Campus

Members of the House Corrections and Institutions Committee pressed the administration on operating-cost estimates for a proposed Green Mountain Youth Campus and discussed language that would require monthly reporting to joint legislative oversight and would bar FY27 expenditures on further development until a written analysis is provided, the committee’s chair said.

Office of Legislative Counsel staff read draft language that would require the Agency of Human Services, in consultation with the Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Buildings and General Services (BGS), to report monthly to the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee on development of the Green Mountain Youth Campus and to submit a “complete, unambiguous written analysis” estimating annual operating costs; subsection b proposed that departments shall not expend funds for further development in FY27 unless the analysis is approved by designated committee chairs or handled through an alternative contingency.

Members debated the mechanics and potential consequences. Several warned that conditioning FY27 expenditures on chair approval could be procedurally problematic and might delay negotiations already underway between BGS and a potential developer; counsel and members discussed routing the contingency through the Joint Fiscal Committee as an alternative. The staff-drafted language would not affect work done under current FY26 RFPs, counsel said, but would affect future FY27 expenditures.

Committee members repeatedly urged DCF to provide operating-cost data now. The chair cited figures discussed with appropriations staff: contracted temporary beds averaging about $2,200–$2,400 per bed per day in one location and a contract coming in at roughly $4,400 per bed per day in another; by contrast, an approximate $320 per bed per day cost was mentioned for incarcerated adults. Members warned those higher operating figures would create a substantial long-term budget impact for a 14‑bed facility and broader placements and said transparency on operating costs is needed to decide whether to contract out services or staff the facility with state employees.

After discussion, members agreed to adjust subsection b (removing exclusive chairs’ approval), work with Representative Katie McClain and Joint Fiscal Committee members on alternative language, and include reporting/contingency language in the committee’s bill so the committee remains part of later negotiations. Staff and relevant agencies were assigned to refine the wording for the capital/budget process.