The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 33 : Human Services

Chapter 049 : Child Welfare Services

Subchapter 002 : REPORTING ABUSE OF CHILDREN

• § 4916c. Petition for expungement from the Registry

  (a)(1) Pursuant to rules adopted in accordance with subsection 4916(e) of this title, a person whose name has been placed on the Registry may file a written request with the Commissioner, seeking a review for the purpose of expunging an individual Registry record. The Commissioner shall grant a review upon an eligible person’s request.

  (2) A person who is required to register as a sex offender on the State’s Sex Offender Registry shall not be eligible to petition for expungement of the person’s Registry record until the person is no longer subject to Sex Offender Registry requirements.

  (b)(1) The person shall have the burden of proving that a reasonable person would believe that the person no longer presents a risk to the safety or well-being of children.

  (2) The Commissioner shall consider the following factors in making a determination:

  (A) the nature of the substantiation that resulted in the person’s name being placed on the Registry;

  (B) the number of substantiations;

  (C) the amount of time that has elapsed since the substantiation;

  (D) the circumstances of the substantiation that would indicate whether a similar incident would be likely to occur;

  (E) any activities that would reflect upon the person’s changed behavior or circumstances, such as therapy, employment, or education;

  (F) references that attest to the person’s good moral character; and

  (G) any other information that the Commissioner deems relevant.

  (3) The Commissioner may deny a petition for expungement based solely on subdivision (2)(A) or (2)(B) of this subsection. The Commissioner’s decision to deny an expungement petition shall contain information about how to prepare for future expungement requests.

  (c) At the review, the person who requested the review shall be provided with the opportunity to present any evidence or other information, including witnesses, that supports the person’s request for expungement. Upon the person’s request or during a declared state of emergency in Vermont, the conference may be held through a live, interactive, audio- video connection or by telephone.

  (d) A person may seek a review under this section not more than once every 36 months.

  (e) Within 30 days after the date on which the Commissioner sent notice of the decision pursuant to this section, a person may appeal the decision to the Human Services Board. The person shall be prohibited from challenging the substantiation at such hearing, and the sole issues before the Board shall be whether the Commissioner abused the Commissioner’s discretion in denying the petition for expungement. The hearing shall be on the record below, and determinations of credibility of witnesses made by the Commissioner shall be given deference by the Board.

  (f) The Department shall take steps to provide reasonable notice to persons on the Registry of their right to seek an expungement under this section. Actual notice is not required. Reasonable steps may include activities such as the production of an informative fact sheet about the expungement process, posting of such information on the Department website, and other approaches typically taken by the Department to inform the public about the Department’s activities and policies. The Department shall send notice of the expungement process to any person listed on the Registry for whom a Registry check has been requested. (Added 2007, No. 77, § 1, eff. June 7, 2007; amended 2007, No. 168 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 2015, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 10, 2016; 2023, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. September 1, 2024.)