The Shumlin administration is planning to move Department for Children and Families workers from their location at Barre City Place to a nearby courthouse in what officials say is a direct response to the August shooting death of a DCF worker.
Administration Secretary Justin Johnson told reporters Friday that about 30 employees in DCF鈥檚 Economic Services Division will make the one-block move by the end of year. The employees will take over the fourth floor of the state-owned courthouse, he said. To accommodate them, the Washington County State鈥檚 Attorney鈥檚 office will move down to the courthouse鈥檚 second floor, he said.
鈥淭hat group of people have been fairly traumatized,鈥� he said, referring to the . 鈥淚n some ways, I think some of them sort of relive it every day.鈥�
The administration is hoping the move will help the employees 鈥渕ove on from the tragedy and get back to the work that even on a good day is fairly emotional,鈥� Johnson said.
The announcement Friday follows the death of DCF worker Lara Sobel on August 7. Police say Sobel was shot twice at close range with a high-powered rifle in the parking lot of Barre City Place by Jody Herring. Herring, who is in custody and awaiting trial, is also accused of killing three relatives in Berlin the day before shooting Sobel.
Frontline DCF workers in Barre and around the state have been concerned about security since Sobel鈥檚 death. Just this week, Washington County State鈥檚 Attorney Scott Williams, who wrested the gun from Herring in the aftermath of the shooting, told the Legislative Child Protection Oversight Committee that state buildings, particularly courthouses, need more protections.
Williams said the state should invest in fences for parking lots to prevent incidents like Sobel鈥檚 shooting. He called for better video surveillance. There are cameras outside City Place, but Williams told the lawmakers there were blind spots and no camera was in a position to capture the area where the shooting took place. State employees also need training on how to recognize threats, he said.
Johnson said the administrations is looking to 鈥渆nhance security and make the best of the security we have,鈥� but declined to reveal what additional measures might be taken.
鈥淎t this point I鈥檓 not really prepared to go into the other security measures we鈥檙e considering because of security,鈥� he said.
Any additional security measures at state offices will be done 鈥渂y a building by building review,鈥� according to Johnson. He said bulletproof glass has been used in the past at some places.
鈥淲e鈥檝e actually had bulletproof glass in the entrance areas of different offices around the state. We鈥檝e put it in. We鈥檝e taken it out when we鈥檝e had complaints that it鈥檚 difficult to see through,鈥� he said.
The state is moving toward single points of public entry at state offices to control access. The state has also shifted to card access to buildings rather than keys.
鈥淔or years we gave out keys to people. I鈥檓 sure we kept track of most of them,鈥� he said.
"Nowadays we can control the card access from a central point. We can lock buildings down if we need to at the flick of a switch. Access control has improved a lot. It doesn鈥檛 mean there isn鈥檛 more work to do looking at that.鈥�
The administration is not looking to implement a set of baseline security measures for each office, according to Johnson.
鈥淭hat sounds a bit too cookie cutter for me. They鈥檙e just so different,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really looking at what we need to do in each individual case.鈥�
Security at courthouses is currently handled by the Judicial Branch, which, in the past, has sought additional security measures but has been thwarted by funding approved by the legislative and executive branches. Johnson said there is an ongoing conversation with the judiciary about its needs.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know how that comes out yet. I think it鈥檚 fair to say that you鈥檙e likely to see some extra security in some places,鈥� he said.
Whether security will be enhanced for the parking lots at state offices has not been determined. Johnson said the administration has 鈥渘ot spent a lot of time on the parking piece yet.鈥�
The cost to move the workers is not expected to exceed $100,000. Johnson said the Department of Buildings and General Services should be able to fit the space inside the courthouse for DCF workers within its existing budget.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like we are looking to do something that is next to impossible to do or involves sort of brand new construction or anything like that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 real money, but as I鈥檝e said all along, I鈥檓 prepared to spend a little money if it makes a difference. I think, on balance, this makes a difference for those folks.鈥�
The administration also considered moving the employees to the McFarland State Office Building, also located in Barre. However, the courthouse move required displacing fewer people. Employees from the Agency of Natural Resources would have had to move out of McFarland and into City Place, which is not well-suited for their work, according to Johnson.
Some DCF employees, including the Office of Child Support, will remain at City Place.
The Vermont State Employees Association, which has advocated for moving DCF employees to a more secure location, said Friday that it supports the move.
鈥淰SEA is pleased the state was able to find a place for the Barre DCF Family Services鈥� Division workers to relocate, where they can feel safer, 鈥� VSEA Executive Director Steve Howard said in a statement. 鈥淭here is security at the courthouse, and this will hopefully give the DCF workers a measure of comfort and allow them to slowly try to get their working lives back to normal. VSEA appreciates the state鈥檚 willingness to listen to workers at the McFarland State Office Building, who questioned the costs around moving the DCF workers to McFarland and vice versa. The courthouse seems a better move.鈥�
This story was and reprinted here through a partnership with the bureau.
