Following court approval, Newbury braces for juvenile youth facility

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – The Vermont Supreme Court Thursday gave the greenlight to a proposed facility for troubled teens located in the Upper Valley. Now, state and local officials are planning their next moves.

The Department for Children and Families has wanted for several years to convert a Newbury property into a six-bed treatment facility for juvenile offenders. But the community of Newbury has pushed back, eventually appealing the case to the Vermont Supreme Court. In a four-to-one decision Thursday, the high court agreed with the state and said the project can go forward.

“We’re pleased for what that means for being able to use the facility in Newbury for the care of Vermont’s youth,” said DCF Commissioner Chris Winters.

The facility, to be run by New Hampshire-based Beckett Family Services, has been years in the works. Newbury contends the former bed and breakfast was not zoned to be a juvenile detention facility while the state argued it was a group home and the juveniles living there will be receiving therapeutic treatment.

The plan has also faced fierce pushback from residents, who voted against it on Town Meeting Day last year.

Reporter Calvin Culter: What would you say to people — in a state where we value local control — that are concerned about the state is steamrolling their opposition?”

DCF Commissioner Chris Winters: These are youth who need our help. We all have a responsibility to care for them. They are in our community already. We have an obligation to work together to support them and get them the treatment they need.

But even with the high court’s approval, the exact future of the facility is up in the air. Crews on Friday were busy breaking ground in Middlesex for a facility dubbed “Plan B” to temporarily house a handful of juvenile offenders. The four secure beds are set to open next month in trailers that were set up as a temporary mental health facility after Tropical Storm Irene destroyed the former Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury.

Since those beds will now be dedicated to the most acute cases, Winters says Newbury may serve a different purpose. “We’re trying to reassess where this fits now that we have another piece of the puzzle in the system of care,” he said.

Since the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility closed in 2020 following accusations of abuse – and a shift in the best way to treat teens — the state has had nowhere to place the youngest offenders, and staffing shortages have caused disruptions in the system.

State lawmakers say having the Middlesex and Newbury facilities will give the state more flexibility. “There is perhaps an opportunity for the administration to work with Newbury to fill some of those beds we lost during COVID and the staffing struggles,” said Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington.

It’s unknown when the state plans to move forward on the facility in Newbury. However, Commissioner Winters says that the state at some point will need to invest in a secure facility

NEWBURY OFFICIALS WEIGH NEXT MOVE

Thursday’s court ruling is not sitting well with Newbury residents and town officials, who have opposed the project since the very beginning.

“There is no one who disagrees that this type of facility is needed. There is just not enough mental health for our young people or anyone, said Newbury Selectboard Chair Alma Roystan.

She says her biggest concern about the proposed facility is its remote location in the event of an emergency. “It’s the fact that it is out on a Class 4 road and part of it is actually a private driveway,” she said.

“Mud season happens every year in Vermont and some years that road can be tough sledding for a week or two,” said Larry Scott, a member of the town’s planning commission. He says the town’s Development Review Board unanimously rejected the project two years ago because it doesn’t fall within current zoning. “It’s in the middle of a conservation district. It’s supposed to be rural in nature, with an emphasis on agriculture and forestry.”

“I am devastated,” said Zaka Chery, whose farm abuts the property. He has safety concerns for both his 16-month-old daughter and farm employees who he says could be unfairly targeted by law enforcement because of the color of their skin. “We are a young family. We are in our mid-thirties, so we are going to be here for a long time and we got this place to try to build a life,” Chery said.

Town officials will be meeting with the town’s lawyer Friday night to decide whether to file a motion to reargue the case.

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