Vermont is seeking a new developer to build a 15-bed locked facility for youth involved in the criminal justice system. The request for proposal comes a few months after the Department for Children and Families dropped its plans to build the facility in Vergennes.

The RFP, issued Oct. 17, puts the responsibility for finding a location, as well as securing any local permits or zoning changes, on the developer.

Vermont hasn’t had a permanent facility for justice-involved youth since closing Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in 2020 amid allegations that staff used excessive force against kids.

The state has struggled to replace Woodside, encountering local pushback in Vergennes and, before that, in Newbury, where it first attempted to build a six-bed facility.

More from Vermont Public: Lawsuit, regulatory reports allege ‘dangerous’ restraints of children at Woodside

The lack of a secure youth facility has meant more juveniles have been held in adult prisons, according to the Department of Corrections. From Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025, there were 26 youth held in Vermont prisons, said Jordan Pasha, DOC’s director of classification. That’s up from 20 the previous year and 13 the year before that.

Most youth accused of a crime are placed in the custody of the Department for Children and Families, and their cases play out in family court, which is confidential. But there are about a dozen more serious offenses, such as murder and sexual assault, that can result in a youth being charged as an adult. In those cases, a juvenile can be held in prison while their case plays out.

Federal regulations require that kids be held in “sight and sound separation” from adults in prison, which often means they are held in what amounts to solitary confinement.

DOC officials say their facilities are not set up to hold youth.

“If it [was] something that we no longer had to do, I think our staff would be very happy about that,” said Haley Sommer, DOC’s director of communications.

One 16-year-old was recently held at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland for 19 days. He told child welfare advocates that he was alone in a cell for 10 to 16 hours a day, and described the experience as “inhumane,” according to Matthew Bernstein, the state’s child, youth and family advocate.

“I think that any policymaker, indeed, any Vermonter should find it unacceptable that we can’t offer young people something better,” Bernstein said.

That youth was eventually transferred to Red Clover, a temporarily locked four-bed facility DCF opened in Middlesex last year.

More from Vermont Public: Temporary facility for justice-involved youth could open by September, but hurdles remain

Since it opened, Red Clover has been full 57% of time and the average length of stay is about 41 days, according to the office of the youth, child and family advocate.

Deputy Defender General Marshall Pahl said he’s generally been pleased with the conditions at Red Clover, but he’s concerned about how long youth are being held there.

“It’s a temporary detention facility,” Pahl said. “As we start using it for holding kids for weeks instead of days, or months instead of weeks, all of a sudden it’s really an inappropriate facility.”

DCF officials did not agree to an interview, but in a written statement said that a situation like a youth being held for an extended period of time in an adult prison highlights the need for a new locked youth facility in Vermont.

Objections remain to the state’s plans, however. Bernstein, the child, youth and family advocate, said a 15-bed facility is too big for the state, pointing to Red Clover’s utilization data.

“I think it pretty strongly indicates that we should pause,” he said. “We should slow down a little if we’re talking about building a brand new 15-bed facility from scratch.”

Bernstein said the state should prioritize community-based programs for kids — ones that keep them out of locked facilities.