§ 1172. Purpose; powers; duties
(a) The Council shall:
(1) facilitate opportunities for dialogue, advocacy, education, and support among State
agencies, advocacy groups, and the public;
(2) collect, review, and analyze data and information relating to domestic violence;
(3) provide assistance in developing effective responses to domestic violence, including
model policies and procedures, prevention and education initiatives, and domestic-violence-related
programs for the criminal justice and human services sectors; specifically, the Council
shall work with the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs and the Department
of Corrections to develop recommendations for practice in evidence-based prosecution,
risk assessment with domestic violence offenders, the use of deferred sentences in
domestic violence cases, standardized probation conditions for domestic violence offenders,
appropriate programming options for domestic violence offenders, and strategies for
addressing victims of domestic violence who commit crimes as a result of the coercion
of a batterer;
(4) recommend changes in State programs, laws, administrative regulations, policies, and
budgets related to domestic violence;
(5) establish and maintain standards for intervention programs for perpetrators of domestic
violence, and develop a process for certifying that programs are complying with the
standards;
(6) review and comment upon legislation relating to domestic violence introduced in the
General Assembly at the request of any member of the General Assembly or on its own
initiative; and
(7) study the issue of employment discrimination against victims of domestic violence
and suggest model workplace protections and policies.
(b) The Council shall collaborate with the Vermont Fatality Review Commission to develop
strategies for implementing the Commission’s recommendations.
(c) [Repealed.] (Added 2007, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 14; amended 2011, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 51, eff. May 14, 2012.)