Lawsuit: Unfounded MH claims launch probes of pregnant Vermonters

Abstract

Vermont's child welfare agency engages in a broad practice of surveilling and punishing pregnant women based on unfounded claims about their parenting capacity, including those related to their mental health, a newly filed lawsuit alleges. The complaint in the Vermont Superior Court case accuses the state Department for Children and Families (DCF) of illegally enlisting medical and social service agencies to provide information about the women they are monitoring on a “high-risk pregnancy docket.”