§ 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(c) [Repealed.]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.)