State and Legislative News: Spring 2025

After last year’s Attorney General's Office (AGO) approval of our pilot restorative approach to domestic violence under Act 11, we recently received approval for our broader memorandum of understanding (MOU) to address domestic violence cases with a Restorative Circle. The MOU is posted on the AGO website. 

This MOU is with the Women’s Freedom Center as the local member of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and with the Taking Responsibility Domestic Violence Accountability Program for men. We are coordinating with our State’s Attorneys, Probation and Parole officers, and police chiefs to develop effective protocols for assessing safety when taking on a domestic violence case. 

Also, after this legislative session, the AGO will be the sole funder of pre-charge diversion programs, rather than the Department of Corrections. Since Act 180 requires the AGO to only fund one pre-charge provider per county, and we are in two counties, we will subcontract our ongoing pre-charge work with Valley Court Diversion in Hartford for southern Windsor County, and Interaction in Brattleboro for northern Windham County.