Department refuses to release even anonymized data about where recipients came from — or if they’re from Vermont at all.
A Simple Ask — And a Double Denial
Vermont taxpayers continue to foot a rapidly growing bill for public assistance and emergency housing programs. But when FYIVT asked a simple question — how many recipients recently moved to Vermont from out of state — the Department for Children and Families (DCF) responded with a shrug.
In back-to-back responses to public records requests, DCF’s Economic Services Division (ESD) claimed it could not provide data on whether applicants for programs like 3SquaresVT, Reach Up, and Emergency Housing were new to the state or had previously received public assistance elsewhere. According to the agency, those records “do not exist under any name known” and providing them would require “creation of new records.”
Not a Privacy Issue — Just a Transparency One
This is not a question about secrets or sensitive personal information. FYIVT explicitly requested only anonymized data — no names, no birthdates, no addresses. The goal was to understand whether the state is tracking, even at a basic level, where public assistance recipients came from and what programs they may have accessed before arriving in Vermont.
In the context of rising program costs and growing concern about out-of-state migration into Vermont’s social safety net, it’s a question Vermonters deserve to have answered.
Basic Technology, Willfully Ignored
In a follow-up request, FYIVT clarified that we weren’t seeking analytics or custom reports — just a basic export of existing intake fields. This is a function any modern database system can perform in minutes.
Even more astonishing: DCF refused to provide a screenshot or blank version of the internal intake form used by caseworkers to collect applicant information. Instead, the agency pointed us to its public-facing website, which does not reveal the actual data fields entered or stored.
This evasiveness raises an obvious question: is the state hiding what it collects, or is it simply not collecting what taxpayers might reasonably expect it to?
Either They Don’t Know — Or Don’t Want Us To Know
If the state genuinely does not track an applicant’s prior residence, that’s a serious oversight — especially given the scale of resources being poured into emergency housing. If they do track it, but are refusing to disclose it, that’s an even more serious breach of public trust.
This lack of transparency is especially concerning in light of the recent passage of H.91, which establishes the Vermont Homeless Emergency Assistance and Responsive Transition to Housing (VHEARTH) Program. This law aims to overhaul the state’s emergency housing strategy by shifting away from the hotel voucher system in favor of community-based shelter models. Yet the state still refuses to reveal who is actually using the system — and where they came from.
A Program Spiraling Out of Control
The financial implications are staggering. As detailed in our article, “Vermont’s Temporary Hotel Voucher Program: A Wake-Up Call for Taxpayers”, the program’s cost has skyrocketed from modest pre-pandemic levels to tens of millions of dollars annually. For Fiscal Year 2025, the state proposes spending $44 million, with contingency funds potentially pushing that number to $54 million. This is a significant increase from the pre-pandemic spending of less than $7.1 million per year.
Who Is Using the Motel Voucher Program?
In our commentary, “Who Is Using the Motel Voucher Program?”, we explored the demographics of program participants. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some individuals may be relocating to Vermont to take advantage of its generous welfare programs. One notable case involved a couple who moved from Florida to Vermont, attracted by the state’s comparatively generous food stamp benefits and the motel voucher program. This raises questions about whether Vermont’s policies are inadvertently attracting individuals from other states seeking more substantial assistance.
Legislators Must Step In
FYIVT has already reached out to members of the Vermont Legislature. We’ve also offered — at no cost — to walk DCF through the process of exporting anonymized CSV data if technical limitations are the true barrier.
This is not a question of capacity. It’s a question of will.
Vermonters deserve a safety net. But they also deserve accountability — and the assurance that those nets aren’t being quietly expanded into national magnets for the desperate, the addicted, or the opportunistic at the expense of the working poor who’ve lived and paid taxes here for decades.
What Comes Next
FYIVT has formally appealed the Department’s refusal to provide even anonymized data to DCF Commissioner Chris Winters, citing concerns over transparency and public accountability. We await the Commissioner’s response and will report on whether the agency intends to stand by its claim that such basic intake data “does not exist under any name known.”
We’ve also reached out to members of the Vermont Legislature to raise the broader issue: If the state is spending over $50 million per year on emergency housing and public assistance, why isn’t it willing — or able — to tell taxpayers who’s receiving the aid and whether they’ve just arrived in Vermont?
A follow-up report will cover the outcome of the appeal, responses from lawmakers, and whether any oversight action is initiated.
For now, Vermonters are being asked to spend more — with fewer questions, and even fewer answers.
Dave Soulia | FYIVT
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