The state-federal safety net program should help some Vermonters pay for services that private insurance does not cover.
Feds extend Vermont’s Medicaid waiver program to help underinsured residents and boost Medicaid reimbursements
Tag: Vermont Legal Aid
Vermont has rules about suspending students. Parents and advocates say some schools are breaking them.
Advocates say students are being pulled out of class without the legal suspension process. During the pandemic, they say, the practice has grown more common.
Staffing woes plague special education, shorting students and driving up costs
Advocates and administrators say the situation has become dire, as schools turn to expensive traveling educator agencies and struggle to hire for summer programs.
Rachel Batterson: When it comes to housing, be a YIMBY
NIMBY opposition makes it expensive to build below-market homes. So, fewer homes get built and most of them in low-opportunity locations where there’s less opposition. This concentrates poverty.
‘I’m not that person anymore’: Proposal seeks to expand eligibility to clear past crimes
The legislation would make all misdemeanor convictions — with exceptions for violent crimes such as sexual exploitation of a child and domestic violence offenses — eligible for sealing. Certain felony offenses are also covered under the legislation.
Vermont’s long-term care facilities face ‘urgent’ staffing shortages
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities struggled to keep enough staff, and resident quality of care has suffered, a recent report to state lawmakers shows.
Sandra Paritz: Why housing still isn’t considered a human right
Once you know the real story behind a person who is homeless, you cannot tell yourself the false and simplified narratives that allow you to just keep walking.
Vermont Legal Aid sues on behalf of Vermonters denied jobless benefits
The lawsuit seeks to force the state to expedite appeal hearings for more than 600 Vermonters who have waited up to six months to get their cases heard.
Vermont Health Connect open enrollment will mean big savings to some
A temporary bump in federal subsidies could save some Vermonters hundreds of dollars on health insurance premiums in 2022.
Scott plans to extend motel program through end of the year
After Dec. 31, administration officials said, motel residents could apply through a new state program to become short-term renters in the motels while they look for alternate housing.
Proposal nixes expungement, expands sealing of criminal records
A draft bill would make more crimes eligible to be cleared from a person’s record, but questions remain over who would still have access to the information and under what circumstances.
Advocates ramp up pressure on state to extend motel housing
About 543 households are slated to lose their rooms Thursday, according to Vermont Legal Aid.
Vermont loosens motel housing eligibility rules for disabled people
The new rules result from a settlement announced Friday in Vermont Legal Aid’s lawsuit against the state. Although happy with the results, both sides of the dispute say the work is not over.
Homeless Vermonters with disabilities receive 14-day housing extension
An order signed by a state judge Wednesday will give residents experiencing homelessness an additional 14 days to prove that they have a disability before they have to leave hotels and motels.
