Columbia Justice Lab's New Report Shows Decline in Delinquency Caseloads After Raise the Age Implementation
A new report from the Emerging Adult Justice Project at the Columbia Justice Lab, shows that Vermont has absorbed delinquency cases of 18-year-olds in Family Court (Phase 1 of the law’s implementation) without any increase in key delinquency caseloads and, in fact, has experienced declines in caseloads, and appears well-positioned to add 19-year-olds later this year.
- There has been an overall decline in delinquency filings in Vermont, and the number has remained fairly stable since 18-year-olds charged with delinquency offenses were added to the Family Division. In FY23, there were 700 delinquency cases filed, down 21.7% since FY12, when there were 894 new delinquency filings.
- The number of youths on probation has declined since 18-year-olds were added in 2020. In FY22, there were 155 youths on probation, down from 192 youths on probation in FY20 when 18-year-olds began to be included in Family Court. Note that these figures come from one-day-counts on different dates in each year and may not reflect overall probation trends.
- The number of youths in DCF custody as a result of delinquency cases has continued to decline, even after 18-year-olds were added to Family Court. In FY22, there were 36 young people in DCF custody as a result of delinquency offenses, down 85% since FY09, and down 30.8% from FY20, when 18-year-olds were added.