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61–549 PDF 2010

S. HRG. 111–642 

EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY EFFORTS TO COUNTER 

DRUG-RELATED CRIME IN RURAL AMERICA 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

MARCH 22, 2010 

BARRE, VERMONT 

Serial No. J–111–82 

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary 

( 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman 

HERB KOHL, Wisconsin 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware 

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa 

JON KYL, Arizona 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

JOHN CORNYN, Texas 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

BRUCE A. COHEN, Chief Counsel and Staff Director 

MATT MINER, Republican Chief Counsel 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Page 

Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont .................... 1 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 51 

Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island ...... 4 

WITNESSES 

Floersch, Barbara, Associate Director, Washington County Youth Service Bureau/Boys & Girls Club, Montpelier, Vermont .................................................. 12 

Graduate, Susan, Vermont Works for Women’s Modular Home Construction 

Program at Northwest State Correctional Facility, Burlington, Vermont ...... 15 

Kerlikowske, R. Gil, Director, Office of National Drug Control Police, Washington, DC ............................................................................................................. 7 

L’Esperance, Colonel Tom, Director, Vermont State Police Waterbury, 

Vermont ................................................................................................................ 9 

Lauzon, Thomas, Mayor, Barre, Vermont ............................................................. 4 

Quadros, Damartin, Business Owner, Barre, Vermont ........................................ 16 

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Ecker-Racz, Nicholas, Parent, Glover, Vermont, letter ........................................ 28 

Floersch, Barbara, Associate Director, Washington County Youth Service Bureau/Boys & Girls Club, Montpelier, Vermont, statement ............................... 30 

Susan, Vermont Works for Women’s Modular Home Construction Program 

at Northwest State Correctional Facility, Burlington, Vermont, statement ... 33 

Kerlikowske, R. Gil, Director, Office of National Drug Control Police, Washington, DC, statement .......................................................................................... 35 

L’Esperance, Colonel Tom, Director, Vermont State Police Waterbury, 

Vermont, statement and attachment ................................................................. 43 

Lauzon, Thomas J., Mayor, City of Barre, Barre, Vermont, statement .............. 46 

Lawson, Karen, Housing Coordinator, study ........................................................ 49 

Manning, Scott D., Northfield, Vermont, letter .................................................... 55 

Oden, Sherri, Principal Investigtor, Head Start, study ........................................ 58 

Peterson, Christine, Director of New Directions for Barre, Barre, Vermont, 

Survey ................................................................................................................... 60 

Quadros, Damartin, Business Owner, Barre, Vermont, statement ..................... 67 

Rex, Judy, Executive Director, Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, 

Waterbury, Vermont, letter ................................................................................. 69 

Taylor, Gary L., Chief, St. Albans City Police, St. Albans, Vermont, statement ...................................................................................................................... 72 

Vermont Center for Afterschool Excellence, Burlington, Vermont, program ..... 76 

Vermont State Police, St. Albans City Police Department, DDACTS Program, 

case study ............................................................................................................. 78 

Vermont, 21st CCLC 2008 Annual Performance Report, report ......................... 96 

Vermont Works for Women, statement ................................................................. 114 

Women, Girls & Criminal Justice, Direct, article ................................................. 117 

(1) 

EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY EFFORTS TO 

COUNTER DRUG-RELATED CRIME IN RURAL 

AMERICA 

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, 

Washington, D.C. 

The Committee met, Pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., in Barre 

City Auditorium, Barre, Vermont, Hon. Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Leahy and Whitehouse. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY, A U.S. 

SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT 

Chairman LEAHY. Good morning. I guess these microphone are 

live. Just so I can go over some of the rules. I’m Patrick Leahy and 

of course I say that knowing almost three-quarters of the people in 

this room. It is good to be in Barre. It is a special thrill to be here 

because my father was born here in Barre and it’s always been a 

special place. 

We have a number of very good witnesses here. We have Federal, 

state, and local law enforcement, elected officials, government experts, teachers, concerned parents and citizens. All of those who 

work in prevention and treatment. 

What I am going to do is keep our record open for one week so 

people after the hearing, if they hear something they would like to 

add to, can submit further testimony and it will be made part of 

the record. And, of course, everybody who testifies, they will see 

the transcript of what they have to say and if they afterward wish 

to add to that, they will be able to. 

This will be done under the normal rules of the Senate Judiciary 

Committee. 

I am fortunate to be joined by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of 

Rhode Island. Senator Whitehouse is no stranger to law enforcement. He was U.S. Attorney and Attorney General of his state; and 

is one of the most distinguished and knowledgeable members of the 

Senate Judiciary Committee. 

I have received written testimony from Chief Gary Taylor of St. 

Albans who detailed the significant new law enforcement and community efforts to combat drug-related crime in St. Albans which 

has already been translated into a large drop in crime in that community. 

2 

I have received testimony from Mayor Chris Louras of Rutland 

stating the real progress and community mobilization there as well. 

And the important thing, we held hearings of the Senate Judiciary 

Committee in both those communities. And, again, because I want 

to bring us out of Washington. We could have all kinds of hearings 

in Washington, and they are important, but I like everybody in law 

enforcement to remember that we have small cities and towns too, 

not just major urban areas and to know about this. And as a result 

we also have U.S. Marshal Dave Demag is here with us today and 

ATF resident agent in charge Jim Mostyn, and, of course, I mentioned Chris Laurus, the Mayor of Rutland and Kerry Taylor. I 

know that Ethan really is here representing Senator Sanders and 

Tom Tremblay. 

And if I leave somebody out, don’t worry, I will add to this in the 

record. 

Tom Tremblay is the Commissioner of Public Safety and of 

course, Colonel L’Esperance, Tom L’Esperance, Jay Powell and the 

Executive Director of New England HIDTA. Roger Marcoux, the 

Memorial County Sheriff; Montpelier High School teacher Myles 

Chater. Where is Myles Chater? I see him. You have a lot of students here with you, Mr. Chader, and I’m glad to have them. 

Representative MacDonald and Senator Cummings, James Lee, 

the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Trevor Whipple, the Chief of the South 

Burlington Police who knows this community well having been 

chief of police here in the past. In fact, there’s where Chief Whipple 

and I first met. 

Mary Leahy who runs the Central Vermont Adult Basic Education is here. My favorite sister, I should say for the record. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman LEAHY. Well, it’s my only sister, but she would still be 

my favorite one. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman LEAHY. But I think that in Vermont, Senator Whitehouse, I should tell you in Vermont we have this ‘‘all hands on 

deck’’ approach to dealing with serious problems. And we do this 

because in small cities and towns, as you know from Rhode Island, 

you have to all come together. There is no one group that can solve 

a problem. That is why I held these hearings in Rutland and in St. 

Albans. And we take this issue seriously. 

I know Senator Whitehouse has been in so many of these hearings before in Washington on them and we will hear testimony 

today from President Obama’s head of the Office of National Drug 

Control Policy Director, Gil Kerlikowske. 

And the director, I had the honor of presiding on his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate. And he was confirmed unanimously in the Senate. Not too many times recently have we been 

doing things unanimously. 

And he knows, and we talked about this last night at dinner, 

that this is not just a big city issue. It’s a serious and continuing 

problem in rural communities like Vermont and across the country. 

The problems here in Barre, like many other small communities 

are serious. But the good thing is the people in Barre aren’t taking 

it lying down. They’re fighting back. They’ve worked aggressively 

3 

with law enforcement, but they’ve also emphasized prevention and 

treatment matters. 

I know very well from my own time as a State’s Attorney prosecuting major drug cases, a strong and effective law enforcement 

is a very central piece of the puzzle in combating drugs, but I don’t 

think enough was done during the past decade from the Federal 

Government to help hard-working state and local police. We saw 

cuts in Federal funding and economic difficulties led to vacancies 

in local police departments and state police departments. 

But in trying to reverse this, last year’s recovery legislation included a massive and much-needed infusion of Federal funds to 

fund state and local police. And I have talked and worked with 

many of you as we were preparing that legislation. 

We have restored funding to the cops and burn grant programs 

which funds state and local law enforcement. We’ve brought back 

the rural drug enforcement assistance grant program. Again, the 

emphasis I brought that this is not just a big-city problem, but yet 

rural problems too. 

So, with that, I think even in bad economic times to be able to 

hire police officers and use innovative programs. And I’ve heard 

from police here in Vermont that the assistance is making a real 

difference. Support for state and local police along with the funding 

for the Vermont Drug Task Force, the New England High Intensity 

Drug Trafficking Area Program again have helped. And I appreciate this very much. 

But I also want—one of the things we will hear from the Mayor 

is that it can’t just be law enforcement. The one thing I hear every 

single place I go, don’t count just on law enforcement. The whole 

community has to be involved to solve these problems. Here we’ve 

had the problem of—in Barre and the surrounding area hit with 

drug networks from outside the state. Heroin imported by them. 

Then we see break-ins and other crimes that result from drug 

users looking for the money to pay for this. More and more people 

are becoming addicted to the prescription pain killers like 

OxyContin. And more what is most troubling is that more and 

more young children are turning to these drugs at a very early age. 

Now, the good news is that Barre like a lot of other Vermont 

communities is addressing these problems. You’re not hiding from 

it. You’ve worked with state and Federal partners, you also worked 

with schools and community groups that focus on mentoring and 

prevention to try to ensure that our children don’t become involved 

with these drugs in the first place. 

I mean, it’s a lot more important if we can stop them from being 

involved to begin with than to try to figure out what to do after 

the fact. 

We’ll be hearing from Colonel L’Esperance later about this. 

So I will put my whole statement in the record. Because I really 

want to hear from you. But it is mostly to be able to say that we 

need to hear what is going on in other parts of the country. Obviously I have a particular interest in Vermont. But other members 

of the Senate Judiciary Committee are panning out in other parts 

of the country to hear from state and local communities. 

So let me yield to Senator Whitehouse, my colleague from—not 

only my colleague from Rhode Island, but a very, very good friend. 

4 

STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHTEHOUSE, A U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Well, thank you, Chairman. My name is 

Sheldon Whitehouse and unlike Chairman Leahy, I know almost 

no one here. Which actually is a bit of a surprise considering the 

number of people that Chairman Leahy brings down from Vermont 

to testify at our hearings and how often he talks about Vermont. 

As many of you know, he’s quite a good photographer and he’s 

always showing photographs of Vermont, often with his grandchildren in the foreground. So, I feel a little bit on home turf here 

even though I’m from Rhode Island. But I appreciate his invitation 

to be here. It’s wonderful to see him in his natural habitat. And 

it is important for states like Rhode Island and Vermont to have 

these hearings because a great deal of our law enforcement effort 

does take place in small communities where the structure of the 

community is different, where people can come together more effectively. And it’s interesting to me to see how programs like the 

HIDTA program, which works very, very effectively in Rhode Island, at work in other small communities. So I look forward to the 

hearing. 

I thank the Mayor and the other witnesses for their testimony. 

And it’s a great pleasure to be with all of you. 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you very much. I also noticed I should 

have mentioned the U.S. Attorney Chris Cofin is here. He came in 

with U.S. Marshal Dave Demag. 

Our first witness is Mayor Thomas Lauzon. I always mispronounce that and I apologize. I usually call him Tom because 

when we see each others on the street. He was first elected in 

2006. He’s the 39th Mayor of Barre, Vermont. He’s an active member of the community. He served as President of the Barre Lions 

Club, Chairman of the Barre City School Board, Treasurer and 

Board Member of the Barre Partnership, Board Member of the 

Barre Opera House, here in the great Saint Michaels College. Always happy to see somebody from Saint Mike’s. He became a certified public accountant; currently a partner at Salvador and 

Babbick in Barre. 

Please go ahead, Mr. Mayor. 

STATEMENT OF MAYOR THOMAS LAUZON, BARRE, VERMONT 

Mayor LAUZON. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. Chairman, Senator Whitehouse, Director Kerlikowske, 

friends, on behalf of the city of Barre I extend a warm welcome and 

sincere thanks for the opportunity to discuss community efforts to 

counter drug-related crime in rural America. 

I want to extend my thanks, also, Mr. Chairman, to your staff. 

From the very first phone call since I took office 4 years ago, they 

have been generous and sincere with their assistance and concern 

for Barre, for Vermont, and for America. 

The offer to serve as host for this hearing was no exception. During our initial telephone conversation, Maggie Gendron asked me 

if I would mind hosting a hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary 

Committee. She told me the hearing would focus on drug addiction 

and drug-related crimes in rural America. I was and remain grateful for the opportunity. 

5 

At the time it struck me as somewhat peculiar that the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee would ask a mayor 

for permission to hold a hearing in his community. I thought at the 

time that you were simply being polite because that’s in your nature. It took me a while to consider the possibility that perhaps 

some communities would rather not host a hearing on drug addiction and drug-related crimes in their town. That perhaps some believe that talking about drug problems in their communities will 

cast them unfavorably or is an admittance of failure. I do not subscribe to that theory. 

We cannot solve a problem if we are not willing to identify it and 

talk about it openly. In order to solve our problems we need to be 

honest about their existence. We need to be accurate in our assessment, and we need to be expedient in our actions. 

An addict in Burlington should be of concern to the citizens of 

Stowe. A victim in Woodstock should be of concern to the citizens 

of Brattleboro. As the fastest aging state in the nation, Vermont 

cannot afford to lose the unrealized potential of young lives to drug 

addiction and drug-related crimes. With increasing demands on our 

resources, we cannot afford policies that are not proactive. 

Mr. Chairman, you have long advocated for and promoted a 

three-pronged approach to combating rising crime levels in America; prevention, treatment, and enforcement. I believe your approach is both sound and proven. 

Of the three approaches, I am perhaps best known for my views 

on enforcement. And that’s not by choice. As a society we have a 

fascination with enforcement and punishment. I’ve observed during 

my tenure in office that sound bytes relating to enforcement receive 

much more attention than sound bytes relating to prevention and 

treatment. In my opinion, that needs to change. 

While enforcement is a necessary component in our efforts to reduce crime in America, it does not, in and of itself, solve the problem. Enforcement generally occurs after damage has occurred. My 

strong preference is to focus on prevention and treatment. Prevention and successful treatment are more cost effective and yield 

more desirable results. 

Treatment, unlike—like enforcement, occurs after damage occurs. 

But unlike enforcement, treatment offers recovering addicts a positive end result. 

In my opinion aggressive prevention is critical to mitigating the 

effects of drug addiction and drug crimes in America. While we 

were experiencing some positive trends within several categories of 

recreational drug use among our younger citizens, the sharp increase in prescription drug abuse has me especially concerned. 

According to the 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey, non-medical use of Vicodin and OxyContin is increasing among those aged 

12 or older and is roughly even with those who smoke marijuana. 

These drugs are highly addictive and create a dependence that is 

physiologically and psychologically very similar to heroin. Appropriately OxyContin is referred to as ‘‘killer’’ on the streets. Left unchecked, these trends will result in thousands of overdose deaths 

and millions of dollars in treatment and incarceration costs across 

America. 

6 

OxyContin is a pain management drug. While it mitigates the effect of pain and disease, it does not prevent or cure disease. It was 

first introduced by the manufacturer in 1995. In 2002, the Director 

of the Office of New Drugs for the FDA testified before the Senate 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and recognized OxyContin as a valuable product when used properly. 

The Director went on to testify that the FDA was working closely 

with the manufacturer to take appropriate action to curb the misuse and abuse of OxyContin. 

In the 8 years since that testimony, the trends relating to misuse 

have become increasingly troubling. I believe we need to reexamine 

the cost benefit analysis of OxyContin manufacture and distribution as it relates to increased illegal use and distribution. 

Last, I believe we need to be more vigilant in identifying young 

people at risk and more inclusive in our approach to prevention. I 

believe that in addition to our continued focus on an education of 

young people at risk, we need to focus on their families and offer 

additional counseling in support. We need to mitigate the factors 

that place our young people at risk. More appropriate, I believe 

family counseling and support should be a requirement rather than 

a choice. 

In closing, the struggles we talk about today do not define Barre, 

or Vermont, or America. We are defined by our potential. We are 

defined by those who defy the odds and rise above challenging circumstances. Most importantly, we are defined by the exceptional 

people, many of whom you will hear from today and thousands 

more who are hard at work at this very second helping those who 

are struggling with addiction or crime. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mayor Thomas Lauzon appears as a 

submission for the record.] 

Chairman LEAHY. Well, thank you, Mr. Mayor. The request to 

come here was meant as more than a courtesy. Barre is a very special place as you know. Not only was my father born here, but it’s 

a—it’s always—growing up in Montpelier, it’s always been a very 

special area. I recall going to the stone sheds with my grandfather, 

a stone carver, and it—and you have—we have talked about this 

a number of times and I’m glad to see the problems is being faced. 

I’m also glad to see what you said about it has to be an effort on 

a whole lot of levels. 

Senator Whitehouse, did you have any? 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. No, I just want to thank the Mayor for his 

statement. I think the matrix of honest assessment, accurate definition, and expedient response is a very good one to apply to, not 

only this, but other problems. And I wish you well. 

Mayor LAUZON. Thank you, sir. 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you. 

As I might say, one of the events of having these hearings, we 

have a number of people from the Senate Judiciary Committee 

staff who get a chance to come up to Vermont. So I don’t get all 

of the—I don’t get to do it all by myself. And I love having them 

all here. 

The next witness or if I can call forward Director Kerlikowske 

and Colonel L’Esperance, Barbara Floersch, Susan, and I’m—and 

7 

with Susan I intentionally left off the last name at her request, and 

Demartin Quadros. 

I should tell you, we’ll begin with Gil Kerlikowske. He was confirmed by the Senate in May 2009, one of the first members of the 

Obama administration to be confirmed and he was confirmed 

unanimously as the Director of the Office of National Drug Control 

Policy. That means he coordinates all aspects of Federal drug control programs and implements the President’s national drug control 

strategy. He is a 37-year veteran of law enforcement. He served for 

nearly a decade as chief of police in Seattle, Washington. He epitomizes law enforcement in my mind. 

In addition to his extensive experience with state and local law 

enforcement, he served as the Deputy Director of the COPS Office 

at the U.S. Department of Justice. He was elected twice to be president of the major cities chiefs association. He was also elected 

president of the Police Executive Research Forum. He holds a BA 

and an MA in criminal justice from the University of South Florida, and is a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute in 

Quantico, Virginia. 

Director, please go ahead, sir. 

STATEMENT OF R. GIL KERLIKOWSKE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL 

DRUG CONTROL POLICY 

Mr. KERLIKOWSKE. Thank you Mr. Chairman and Senator Whitehouse for the invitation to come to Vermont and to participate in 

today’s discussion on a very important issue. I look forward to 

learning more from the other witnesses that are here about the 

problems in Vermont. I applaud the Mayor and the city of Barre 

for taking this issue on and holding this hearing. 

The Obama administration understands that addiction is a disease and that prevention, treatment and law enforcement must all 

be included as part of a comprehensive strategy to stop drug use, 

and to help those who need it, and to ensure public safety. 

In the coming days we will release the administration’s first national drug control strategy. It will set forth concrete goals to reduce drug use and its consequences and I look forward to working 

together as we implement the ambitious plans and achieve the specific goals that it contains. 

Prevention will be a key focal point of our approach. And as you 

all know well, prevention is a critical component of curtailing drug 

use. In particular for this administration, programs at the community level are a key priority. It is well established that communitybased efforts have the unique ability and perspective to identify 

local substance abuse problems. And, as has been demonstrated 

here and throughout New England, community leaders are well 

suited to design and implement solutions that is best suited to the 

local need. 

Local problems demand locally driven solutions. And ONDCP’s 

Drug Free Community support program is one of the leading local 

community prevention program efforts here in Vermont. 

And I would like to acknowledge Senator Leahy’s strong support 

of this program for a very long time. As well as the work of so 

many participating in these anti-drug coalitions. 

8 

Thanks to Congressional support, ONDCP’S drug-free communities program supports 14 different coalitions in Vermont that totals nearly $1.3 million in fiscal year 2009. Bringing together 

youth, parents, schools, businesses, as well as law enforcement and 

volunteers, these coalitions depend upon the participation of these 

wide range of stakeholders to reduce substance abuse. While we 

must remain vigilant in our efforts, I am pleased to report that 

these programs have demonstrated promising results. 

We made progress in our efforts to engage parents and change 

young people’s perceptions of the risk of substance use while lowering alcohol and drug use rates. There has also been significant 

achievements in addressing methamphetamine production and prescription drug diversion through the task force approach. 

In New England, high intensity drug trafficking area, the HIDTA 

program, provides drug intelligence and investigative training to 

Vermont state and local officers in ensuring the most effective use 

of resources to identify and disrupt drug trafficking in the state. 

In addition the ONDCP HIDTA program supports regional prevention and treatment efforts. It’s critical and it’s to be commended 

to see state and local law enforcement engaging in effective collaboration with local partners while ensuring that individuals entering 

the criminal justice system can access needed treatment services 

when that is appropriate. 

And for those struggling with drug addiction, the administration 

also supports alternatives to incarceration such as drug courts, probationary programs like Hawaii’s HOPE program and others. 

There are three drug courts for adults and one for juveniles that 

currently operate in Vermont. They have demonstrated remarkable 

results in reducing incarceration for drug offenders and improving 

treatment outcomes for their clients. 

Rhode Island’s four adult and four juvenile courts have shown 

similar success and we applaud these successful efforts and remain 

committed to their continued expansion. 

Across the country rural America is facing a number of unique 

challenges related to the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs. The 

Obama administration is dedicated to identifying these problems, 

working closely with Federal, state, and local leaders to identify 

and implement the best solutions as quickly and as effectively as 

possible. 

We know that substance abuse and addiction are in the background of so many of the other negative social consequences and 

no single approach will be effective alone. Instead, we must focus 

on prevention, treatment, enforcement, and interdiction as essential priorities in an overall strategy. 

I look forward to working closely with you and your colleagues 

in Washington, those participating in today’s hearing to address 

these important issues in our rural communities. And I thank you 

for the opportunity to join you today. 

I request that my full written statement be included in the hearing record and I look forward to your questions. Thank you, Mr. 

Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of R. Gil Kerlikowske appears as a submission for the record.] 

9 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you, Director, and your full statement 

will be made part of the record. What we do here is meet the witnesses and then go to questions. 

The next is Colonel Tom L’Esperance. The Colonel is a 23-year 

veteran of Vermont law enforcement. He was named commander of 

the Vermont State Police in May 2009. He and I worked together 

over the years on many, many issues. He has worked with both the 

uniformed and the criminal divisions of the force, specialized in 

narcotics investigations, in criminal highway interdiction. He’s 

worked extensively with the multi-agency Vermont Drug Task 

Force including as an undercover officer and field supervisor. 

You are not going to be able to be an undercover officer anymore, 

you understand that, don’t you Colonel? 

Col. L’ESPERANCE. Yes, sir; yes, I do. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman LEAHY. And has his bachelors degree in criminal justice from Champlain College in Burlington. Please, go ahead, Colonel. 

STATEMENT OF COLONEL TOM L’ESPERANCE, DIRECTOR, 

VERMONT STATE POLICE, WATERBURY, VERMONT 

Col. L’ESPERANCE. Thank you, Senator. I would like to start with 

thanking Senator Leahy and Senator Whitehouse for the opportunity to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to address 

drug-related crime in rural America, specifically in Vermont. 

As part of my responsibilities as the director of the state police 

I oversee the administration of the Vermont Drug Task Force, a 

multi jurisdictional organization consisting of state, county, and 

local offices whose responsibility is to enforcement of our drug laws. 

My perspective is unique not only because I see the tremendous 

work being done every day by the Drug Task Force, as director, but 

also because I spent a significant portion of my career assigned 

there as an investigative supervisor and commander. Throughout 

that time I can say without hesitation that the Drug Task Force 

and all of its achievements would not exist today without the unwavering support of Senator Leahy, the Douglas administration, 

and the Vermont legislature as a whole. For that support, Senator, 

I am deeply appreciative. 

From a statewide law enforcement perspective, the impact drug 

abuse and drug-related crimes have had upon our community— 

communities is substantial. After looking at all the data, however, 

one thing is clear, if we do not focus on reducing the demand for 

drugs in Vermont, we will not be successful in reducing the associated violent crime. 

As a rural state we face unique challenges in our efforts to curb 

drug crime and the effects they have on our citizens. We do not 

have the luxury of the vast resources that exist in urban cities or 

suburban regions. So to be effective we must pool our resources and 

collaborate together in order to solve these problems. 

Although it can be difficult to find solutions in a rural state such 

as Vermont, the fundamentals of illegal drug markets are the same 

everywhere. Where there is demand there will always be a supply. 

We cannot ignore this fact and we must work to both disrupt the 

drug trade and reduce demand. 

10 

I can say unequivocally that the Vermont State Police and the 

Vermont Drug Task Force cannot solve this problem alone. Not 

only is it important to work with our partners in law enforcement, 

but we also must continue to build strong relationships with our 

governmental and nongovernmental organizations in our effort to 

drive down demand and reduce the influx of drugs into the state. 

I strongly believe in and support the three-tiered approach to reducing drug-related crimes in Vermont. The first tier includes a 

continues effort by law enforcement to investigate and dismantle 

drug trafficking organizations; especially those that profit from the 

drug trade. 

The second tier focuses on ensuring that drug users and drug addicts receive treatment by drug counselors in treatment centers. 

When we reduce the number of people with drug addictions, the demand for these drugs will decrease as well. 

The third and final tier includes educating all people on the realities of drug abuse. Particularly, we must dispel many myths associated with the use of prescription drugs amongst the youngest 

members of our society. 

The multi-tiered approach is not a new concept. It was implemented in Vermont with great success almost a decade ago after 

the state was hit hard with the emergence of heroin. Several years 

of widespread focus using this strategy resulted in substantial 

drops of heroin arrests and for a period of time the demand for the 

drug subsided. 

Although we made great strides against heroin, we know that 

powerful pain medication, Oxicodone commonly found in the prescription drug OxyContin quickly moved in to take its place on the 

street. The diversion of prescription narcotics is one of the greatest 

challenges we now face in Vermont. OxyContin has become as 

widespread and available as heroin or crack cocaine. 

With the increase in demand for narcotics such as OxyContin we 

also see a spike in the number of heroin arrests statewide. In the 

past 16 months there has been a 115 percent increase in the number of heroin cases conducted by the Drug Task Force. This can be 

contributed in part to the increase on OxyContin addictions in the 

state and the fact the comparatively street value of a bag of heroin 

is generally less than half the value of an 80 milligram OxyContin. 

Approximately 4 months ago after this Committee held a field 

hearing in St. Albans, the Drug Task Force broke up one of the 

largest distribution rings that diverted OxyContin we’ve ever seen 

in this state. This group was responsible for bringing thousands of 

OxyContin pills into the state every week. Despite the challenges 

associated with prescription drug abuse, it continues to be my belief that if we maintain a strong focus on all highly addictive drugs, 

using the combined strategy of enforcement, treatment, and education we should be able to duplicate our successes from years ago. 

Although we are seeing increases in specific categories such as 

prescription drugs and more recently a resurgence of heroin, we 

cannot forget the many achievements that law enforcement has 

made over the years. The work performed by the Drug Task Force 

has been instrumental in targeting mid- to high-level drug traffickers in the state. The Drug Task Force provides a specialized 

valuable resource to state and local enforcement agencies. 

11 

It uses a model that shares information and manpower resources 

to address a specific problem spanning all jurisdictions. Time and 

time again the task force more than proved to be one of the most 

successful management tools used by law enforcement today in 

Vermont and across the nation. 

This model has worked so well with drug enforcement in the 

state, it is now being applied to the organizational structure of our 

special investigation units and special teams within the state police. 

The mission of the state police and Drug Task Force is broad in 

scope. Because the nature of our work encompasses the entire 

state, we are not always involved in the day-to-day interactions the 

local police have with their communities. From our perspective, 

however, we continue to see strong local support after every largescale enforcement operation we conduct. Communities like Barre, 

Rutland, and St. Albans which may at times feel overwhelmed by 

drug crimes come together after these enforcement operations to 

develop local solutions that help maintain the safety of this city. 

Additionally, as part of our statewide drug enforcement strategy 

the state police have also been participating in the national criminal enforcement effort with the domestic highway enforcement 

project. The funding for this project has been made available 

through the Office of National Drug Control Policy. 

Last, our efforts to curtail the wave of methamphetamine production that has swept through most of the Nation appears to be working in Vermont. Although meth labs occasionally turn up, we were 

able to get ahead of this problem by working with our Department 

of Health and professionals who dedicate themselves to treatment 

to enact tough precursor laws that have been instrumental in slowing down the spread of methamphetamine. 

We will continue to be vigilant in our efforts to control methamphetamine production by working closely with the United States 

Attorney’s Office in the Drug Enforcement Administration to assure that the meth labs do not take hold. 

As we move forward I will continue to rely on the tremendous 

support we received and continue to receive from the Federal Government. Without the funding secured by Senator Leahy over the 

years our ability to operate the Drug Task Force at the level of success it enjoys today would not be possible. Subsequently our ability—our ability to positively impact local communities in the rural 

sections of the state would be severely diminished. With your help 

we continue to focus on our mission of disrupting all drug trade 

throughout the state. 

I would like to thank, again, Senator Leahy, and the entire Committee for the opportunity to testify at today’s hearing. 

[The prepared statement of Colonel Tom L’Esperance appears as 

a submission for the record.] 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you, Colonel. One thing I should have 

asked before. Can everybody hear all right? How about you students up there? Raise your hand if you can hear? 

[Showing of hands.] 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you. I always wonder about when we’re 

having one of these things if somebody will say, ‘‘can everybody 

12 

hear all right’’ and obviously if they can’t there’s no way they’re 

going to be able to answer. But—— 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman LEAHY [continuing]. Thank you. 

And thank you very much, Colonel. And we are going to go back 

to this, but I liked very much what you said about pooling the resources. If it was ever essential anywhere, it’s essential in a small 

state. And I see the director shaking his head yes he understands 

from his own experience. 

Our next witness is Barbara Floersch who has worked with the 

Washington County Youth Service Bureau and the Boys and Girls 

Club for the past 33 years. The Youth Service Bureau assists 

around 2,500 youth in Washington County each year, up to 10,000 

youth through its statewide efforts. She is now the associate director of the organization. So she plans to implement the wide variety 

of programs and services to support young people as they go 

through that transition into being young adults. And she has her 

BA from Norwich University just a few miles away. 

Please go ahead, Ms. Floersch. 

STATEMENT OF BARBARA FLOERSCH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, 

WASHINGTON COUNTY YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU/BOYS & 

GIRLS CLUB, MONTPELIER, VT 

Ms. FLOERSCH. Senator Leahy, Senator Whitehouse, thank you 

for the opportunity to speak today. The Washington County Youth 

Service Bureau, Boys and Girls Club was established in 1974 and 

I joined the Bureau in 1977. For the past 33 years I have worked 

to develop services to meet the needs of young people in this county 

and throughout the state. 

The Youth Service Bureau Boys and Girls Club is one of our community’s effective efforts to combat drug-related crime. 

Here in Washington County we serve about 2,500 young people 

and their families every year and through our statewide efforts we 

serve about 10,000 others. Locally we provide services to runaway 

youth and their families, temporary emergency shelter to youth in 

crisis, transitional living support to homeless youth, adolescent 

substance abuse prevention and treatment services that are funded 

partially through a grant from the Vermont Department of Health, 

SAMSA pass-through money. We provide assistance to teen parents 

and their children. We have a teen center and after-school program, a peer outreach program, a program to connect at-risk youth 

with green jobs, and a residential transitional living program for 

young men returning from Barre City jail. We also have a 24/7 crisis service for young people and families. 

On a statewide basis, the Youth Service Bureau started and now 

administers the Vermont Coalition of Runaway and Homeless 

Youth Programs that involves 13 organizations throughout the 

state. We also operate the Vermont Coalition of Teen Centers that 

serves about 30 teen centers in Vermont and we have Americorp 

and Vista programs that place about 50 volunteers in youth-serving 

organizations throughout Vermont every year. 

As I have done my work over the years, I have continually 

tracked research about why young people succeed or they don’t. My 

testimony here today is based on my experience at the Youth ServVerDate Nov 24 2008 11:43 Oct 21, 2010 Jkt 061549 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\61549.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC
13 

ice Bureau, but also research by people like J. D. Hawkins, and R. 

F. Catalano, Larry Brendtro, Stephen Benson of the (coughing) Institute. I have submitted a bibliography of that research along with 

my testimony. 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you. 

Ms. FLOERSCH. Basically preventing drug abuse, crime and other 

social ills can only be accomplished through actions that promote 

physical, mental, and spiritual health and well being. When young 

people do not perceive their own promise, are emotionally maimed, 

are estranged from their communities that creates crime. It creates 

wounded children who self-medicate with drugs and who have 

nothing to lose. The well-being of children and well-being of the 

community cannot be separated. 

In Washington County we’re fighting for our children which 

means we’re also fighting for our communities. 

New Directions coalitions in Barre, Cabot, and Montpelier are 

promoting a culture of community wellness that’s free of substance 

abuse. These coalitions are also funded by the Vermont Department of Health through SAMSA funds from the Federal Government. 

The Youth Service Bureau Cityscape After-school Program operates at Barre City Middle School. Cityscape is a Boys and Girls 

Club site and a 21st Century Community Learning Center. The 

state department of education’s evaluation of 25th Century—21st 

Century Learning Center Programs shows that quality after-school 

activities help young people succeed in school, a powerful researchbased protective factor against substance abuse. 

The Community Connections Program operates in the Washington Central Supervisory Union and in Montpelier also to provide 

quality out-of-school time experiences to help kids succeed. 

The Basement Teen Center in Montpelier and North field Teen 

Center are Boys & Girls Club sites. They’re giving teens a safe, supervised, substance-free place to hang out, learn leadership skills, 

and have fun while forming good relationships with strong role 

models. 

Community—Central Vermont Community Action Council educates teen parents, is providing funds to the Youth Service Bureau 

through a Department of Labor grant to prepare at-risk youth for 

green jobs and work fervently to address both the causes and effects of poverty. 

Our Washington County Parent Child Center is working with 

young parents and their children—young children and their parents. The Community Justice Centers in Barre and in Montpelier 

are bringing restorative approaches to address conflicts and redress 

wrongs. 

The Youth Service Bureau’s Return House is a residential transitional living program for young male offenders age 18 to 22 who 

are returning to Barre City from jail. Return House is staffed 24/ 

7 and in additional to supervision provides life-skills training, support in finding and retaining a job, substance abuse treatment, 

mental health counseling, positive leisure activities and community 

service opportunities. Return House is the only program of its kind 

in the state and in the past 4 years since it opened, not one of its 

participants has committed a new crime. 

14 

In spite of our successes, some young people are still falling 

through the cracks and living in a harsh and dangerous reality. At 

this time, the most porous spot in Vermont’s safety net and the 

most perilous point in the long crossing to adulthood is for transition-age youth, those n the ages of 17 and 25. 

At every point in a child’s life, the opportunity for health and 

success is precariously balanced with the challenges that could 

snowball to produce alienation, hopelessness, substance abuse, and 

crime. There is a strong, committed service system for young children and school-age children. It needs more resources, but it does 

exist. But by the time kids are in their late teens or have become 

young adults, there aren’t many people left to pick them up if they 

fall down. It’s true that older teens and young adults who are troubled can be hard to help. They’re pretty good a burning bridges. 

But as a community we can’t give up on them. 

The Youth Service Bureau works daily with young people between the ages of 17 and 25 who are in crisis and who have no supervisor system. Each year our transitional living program for 

homeless youth helps about 150 young people. But that program is 

dreadfully underfunded and the reality is, there are many pressing 

needs that we can’t meet. 

The words ‘‘homeless teen’’ are sobering. But if you take a moment to picture a pregnant 17-year-old sleeping in the hallway of 

an apartment building or an 18-year-old man sleeping in an abandoned car, then the real impact on young people and the impact on 

our community comes into sharper focus. Eighteen to 25-year-old 

men are the largest population under the supervision of the 

Vermont Department of Corrections. The majority of young men in 

jail today did not graduate from high school, and many have learning disorders. About 95 percent of them have substance abuse problems that have not been treated and are not now treated in jail. 

Most have backgrounds of abuse and neglect. Many were in foster 

care. 

The number of women supervised by corrections, while lower, 

has grown. Almost 90 percent have been abused, 95 percent have 

substance abuse problems, and 60 percent have diagnosed mental 

health problems. There are young people—these are the young people who fell through the cracks in our support system. And helping 

them make a successful transition back into the community from 

jail is our best chance to help them move their lives onto a different track. Our best chance to help them become contributors to 

the community and our best chance to stop the in-jail/out-of-jail revolving door that can so easily become their life. 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you. 

Ms. FLOERSCH. Again, thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Barbara Floersch appears as a submission for the record.] 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you. 

The next witness, Susan is a single mother. Her son Mark is currently serving in Afghanistan and I might say parenthetically, like 

all of the Vermonters who are serving there, we keep them in our 

prayers and our thoughts. It’s a difficult time for that. 

She participated in the modular home building program for 3 

months while incarcerated at Northwest State Correctional FacilVerDate Nov 24 2008 11:43 Oct 21, 2010 Jkt 061549 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\61549.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC
15 

ity. She has recently started her own business. She was also involved in creating a drop-in support group for women being released from prison. And I might also add parenthetically, it took 

great courage for you to be here. And both Senator Whitehouse and 

I appreciate that. Please go ahead. 

STATEMENT OF SUSAN, VERMONT WORKS FOR WOMEN’S MODULAR HOME CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM AT NORTHWEST 

STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, BURLINGTON, VERMONT 

SUSAN. Thank you. So good morning and thanks for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Susan and I’m 42 and I’m a single mom. I come from a family with no criminal history and no 

background of substance abuse. But I have served time in prison 

because I have abused alcohol. 

I started drinking and using other drugs when I was 17. I started bartending around this time. My use became normal and an expected part of my work and social life. I drove regularly under the 

influence and had my first DUI at the age of 19. 

I stopped using all substances when I discovered I was pregnant 

with my son. I sought treatment from the UVM Treatment Center 

and stayed there for 4 years. I then left treatment and went back 

to bartending full time believing I had my use under control because I needed the income. 

My son’s father and I separated when Mark, my son, was 6 

months old. His father was a huge presence in his life throughout 

his early childhood. Things changed when his father remarried and 

essentially abandoned his son for his new wife. Mark started getting in trouble after this and was left to deal with his behavior on 

his own. The emotional and financial stress led to a relapse. I was 

charged with a DUI twice in 1 year and eventually found myself 

incarcerated. 

It was then, when I was incarcerated at St. Albans, that I found 

Vermont Works for Women and Building Homes and Building 

Lives, a training program that gave me a purpose and made me 

feel like a person again. I was not left out or forgotten. We built 

modular homes that were sold to affordable housing. Being on a 

crew helped me learn new skills and brush up on some old skills 

I had not used in a long time. 

I was given the chance to learn and teach as well as get certified 

in areas that would later find out to help me find work when I had 

left. The program gave me structure and goals which I needed. I 

worked hard and I learned to trust the other women on the crew 

and build something that I could view every day and know that I 

had accomplished it. 

The program also introduced me to resume and developing portfolios for the work we are doing and the skills we had learned. I 

was also supported and prepared by this program that I made a 

decision to start my own painting business with my sister when I 

got out. 

I was released on October 15th of 2009. My son was then and 

is still in the Army serving our country in Afghanistan. Returning 

without him to care for was hard. I had a tendency to isolate and 

knew that would be bad for me. Well, I never had the chance because Vermont Works for Women supported me from the moment 

16 

I got out to this very day. If I needed stamps or if I needed a ride, 

or a phone call, support, information on some of the supports in the 

community, they were very helpful, to say the least. 

It is really important that we reduce the isolation of people who 

return home from prison, especially those who have battled addiction. A lot of the people with whom we come into contact upon their 

release are state employees who have authority over our actions. 

It is very important to have the support and community organizations that could be an ally and connect me to the resources I need 

to move forward. 

Because of my experience I recently started a group for women 

who are returning to the community and looking for peer support, 

a group that Vermont Works for Women has helped to support. 

This makes me proud and helps with my feelings of self worth and 

enables me to give back to the community. 

I will close by saying that thanks to the help of all the staff of 

Vermont Works for Women I have launched my own business with 

my sister. We are fully licensed and insured and working so hard 

and so much that we are looking to hire some help this summer. 

I am making healthy choices and working out daily. I have 

changed my diet to reflect my focus on my health. I continue individual counseling and I am active in the community working for 

the United Way to do repairs for the elderly and facilitating the 

drop-in support group. 

Thank you. 

[Applause.] 

Chairman LEAHY. I am really touched—— 

Susan. Thanks. 

Chairman LEAHY [continuing]. By what you had to say, but also 

by your courage in being here. I could see my wife, Marcel, nodding 

the same behind you, but it’s—we’ll come back to this, but what 

you were talking about isolation and having the support group so 

you are not isolated. I can’t emphasize how important that is in a 

rural state. It’s extraordinarily important. But sometimes you can 

have isolation right in the middle of a city too. 

SUSAN. Yeah. 

Chairman LEAHY. So let’s not forget that. Thank you very, very 

much. 

SUSAN. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Susan appears as a submission for 

the record.] 

Chairman LEAHY. Our next witness is Demartin Quadros, the 

final witness. He’s the owner and operator of Dunkin Donuts Shops 

in three Vermont locations including downtown Barre. I know that 

for a fact. As a small business owner in Barre he often collaborates 

with the Downtown Development Committee and local law enforcement on how to make Barre a safer place. Please, go ahead, sir. 

STATEMENT OF DAMARTIN QUADROS, BUSINESS OWNER, 

BARRE, VERMONT 

Mr. QUADROS. OK. First I would like to thank Senator Leahy 

and Senator Whitehouse for giving me the opportunity to speak. I 

co-own the business with my sister, Susan Covey. It has been a 

family business since 1996. And a lot of people don’t know, but 

17 

Dunkin Donuts are all independently owned and operated. I have 

run the Barre location since that time. Over the past decade I have 

seen a lot of change in downtown, especially over the last couple 

of years. 

The mayor and chief have focused there efforts in patrolling the 

downtown area more frequently and more visibly with foot patrol. 

This, I feel, has made a big difference in many instances of avoiding certain crime from my prospective; especially drug-related activities. 

The biggest challenge we have had in downtown is the perceptions of the surrounding communities and our customers. Perception is something that takes a long time to change. And it’s bad 

and really hurts downtown businesses, especially when it’s bad. 

Barre is centrally located along with Montpelier and is the meeting point, you know, for everything from shopping to employment, 

you know, for all the surrounding communities. 

When it gets into the evening hours, I believe, people don’t feel 

safe going downtown. Which from the changes that I have seen 

over the years I believe there has been much improvement but if 

people still perceive it not to be safe then that has to be changed. 

And the community has summer concert events and other things 

that go on which I think is really important in bringing the community together. 

And the local law enforcement definitely need to have the resources to act as a deterrent and prevent crime from happening. 

Especially when a community like Barre sometimes has the added 

burden due just to where it’s located in relation to the court system 

and other downtown businesses and services. And I believe being 

rural like has been addressed today, is one of the big reasons it 

makes it more difficult as far as having those resources. 

So, again, to reiterate, it makes it really important that the surrounding communities get involved in coming up with solutions. 

As a business owner I have taken steps to make my location safe 

and secure. I have added surveillance cameras to my parking lot, 

additionally with lighting for the evening hours and that has 

helped tremendously. And my surveillance system has already been 

used on a couple of occasions in collaboration with the local law enforcement to help solve some local crimes. And as businesses, I 

think we play a major part in helping deter drug-related crime by 

taking some of these steps and working with fellow businesses to 

make our downtown safe and drug free. 

We depend on our community that’s why we are in business to 

serve them, so I want them to feel safe and know that it is safe 

to visit downtown anytime of the day. I believe we are getting 

there and it takes involvement from all of us in the community as 

a whole to make it happen. 

I would like to thank the Senators again for giving me this opportunity. 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you. Thank you very much. 

Don’t be nervous. 

Mr. QUADROS. It’s kind of hard. I’m not too used to this. 

[Laughter.] 

[The prepared statement of Demartin Quadros appears as a submission for the record.] 

18 

Chairman LEAHY. Listen, this has been—I’m going to ask a few 

questions. This has been a superb panel. Again, one of the reasons 

for getting out of Washington when we can. 

I’m going to start with a question for director Kerlikowske. And 

I want to thank you again. I know what your schedule is like and 

to come up here yesterday and meet with us and be here, I do appreciate it. 

I’m glad to hear you say that both you and the Obama administration recognize what law enforcement officials like Colonel 

L’Esperance has been telling us and what communities have been 

proving for years, that law enforcement alone doesn’t solve the 

problem. We have to work together. And do you agree that the Federal Government can and actually has to do more to support those 

communities that are tackling the problem with the unified approach that includes treatment and prevention and rehabilitation 

along with law enforcement? 

Mr. KERLIKOWSKE. Very much so. There’s so much criticism right 

now of the Federal Government, and yet, I spent, as you know, the 

vast majority of my career at the local level. And I think as you 

and many other Senators also agree that the solution to the problems they’re not always developed within the Beltway. I know that 

will be a surprise too—— 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. KERLIKOWSKE. But—— 

Chairman LEAHY. We’ll accept that. 

Mr. KERLIKOWSKE. But I truly believe there is a gray rule for the 

Federal Government particularly in this and that is through the 

support of Drug Free Communities, it’s a small amount of money, 

but it really helps people leverage those resources. And those Drug 

Free Communities require that the schools, that law enforcement, 

that community stakeholders all come together and that they develop those local solutions. So I could not be in more agreement 

that we can do more and we should do more about this problem 

in support and in leadership, but not in directing. 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you. Well, you’re going to be introducing the new national drug control strategy. Will that reflect 

some of these changes and priorities? 

Mr. KERLIKOWSKE. Very much so, Senator. 

Chairman LEAHY. Good. I’m looking forward to that rollout. 

Colonel L’Esperance, I know in the years I was a prosecutor we 

were effective when we had coordination and boy we were really 

hurting when we didn’t. So you worked on the task force model 

with state and local county government, tell me why that’s so important? 

Col. L’ESPERANE. I think, Senator, that’s the most effective tool 

we have in law enforcement, pooling our resources together and 

whether it’s the drug task force or investigating crimes of a sexual 

nature against children or domestic violence, bringing our best police officers forward, men and women who are dedicated to this 

particular cause. Again, whether it’s the drug task force or what 

have you. 

The funding for this process is vital right now. As you know, 

state, county and local funding has dried up while we’re facing 

probably the most difficult time I’ve seen in over 23 years of being 

19 

a state trooper. So the Federal funding that comes in allows us to 

continue with this drug task force model with this task force model 

for investigating crimes against children, just the task force model 

in general. 

Chairman LEAHY. Well, we saw what it did in one of our more 

publicized and horrible murders here in Vermont a couple years 

ago. In fact, when the director of the FBI, Robert Muller, came to 

Vermont, he made it a point to talk to members of the task force 

and say how important that was. 

I want to go, Susan, if you don’t mind, if I could ask you a few 

questions. And, again, I applaud your willingness and your courage 

in testifying here today. You talked about the importance of community involvement and helping people escape substance abuse. I 

hope that when you’re—what you said will give encouragement to 

others who try to escape substance abuse. There are people in this 

audience who know that you have to have people who work together and can help you when you have such problems. 

Your experience with Vermont Works for Women really speaks 

to what I feel is important at the local level. I think you should 

be proud of what you’ve accomplished. 

SUSAN. I am. Thank you. 

Chairman LEAHY. Good for you. And I think Vermont Works for 

Women should be pretty proud. 

If you had somebody and you probably will after this testimony, 

you’ll have somebody coming to you with a similar story and talk 

about the situation you were in. What would you tell them? 

SUSAN. Well, there are so many resources out there and every 

town has their resources. They’re available, it’s just a matter of 

hearing about them or knowing about them. I wouldn’t have known 

about Vermont Works for Women, unfortunately, unless I was incarcerated. But taking advantage of the programs out there, a lot 

of people don’t. I would tell them to look, you know, look outside 

of DOC and— you know. 

Chairman LEAHY. I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but 

would it be safe to say you could tell somebody who’s been incarcerated, that’s not the end of the world? 

SUSAN. Exactly. 

Chairman LEAHY. Good for you. I happen to agree with you on 

that. And I—— 

Sort of along the same way, Ms. Floersch, you’re going to see, 

and you do see a lot of people going in the wrong direction. Do you 

give up, or do you have ways to get them back? 

Ms. FLOERSCH. Never give up. When we give up that’s when they 

do end up in corrections. And if we give up when they come out, 

and we keep giving up as they go in again and come out, then we 

will have no way to help them have the sort of successes as Susan 

has had. And so we’ve—the way we don’t give up is we’ll go find 

them. If they don’t show up for a meeting, we go find them. And 

we keep welcoming them back even if they keep missing their appointments or doing wrong. 

Chairman LEAHY. Well, I think of programs like AA. You have 

people that are sort of the lifeline people, somebody you can call, 

you go out, reach them, bring them back. 

20 

Mr. Quadros, let me ask you, I think this question probably answers itself. But, would you agree, No. 1, that law enforcement 

can’t do this alone? 

Mr. QUADROS. No. Definitely not. 

Chairman LEAHY. And second, the business community has to be 

really part of the community in this; do they not? 

Mr. QUADROS. They do. That’s a big, big part of it. 

Chairman LEAHY. I know I talked to the Mayor not only here, 

but in other cities in Vermont. They tell me that when the business 

community comes together with the education community, the 

rehab community, and law enforcement, that the whole is greater 

than the sum of the parts. I mean, together they accomplish a 

great deal more. Would you agree with that? 

Mr. QUADROS. Definitely do. 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you. Senator Whitehouse, let me—I 

don’t mean to be—please go ahead. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Well, I’ve been very impressed by the testimony we’ve heard about these two programs, the Return House 

and Ms. Floersch, you said that that has a zero recidivism rate in 

4 years. 

Ms. FLOERSCH. None of the participants have committed new 

crimes. Some have gone back to jail for violation of conditions of 

release—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. OK. 

Ms. FLOERSCH [continuing]. But have not committed a new 

crime. And so often they will go back and then come back into Return House and settle down because they realize—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. They realize—— 

Ms. FLOERSCH [continuing]. that they need to settle down. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Yeah. Well, the—it’s one of the interesting 

quirks of our justice system that we put enormous resources out 

into patrolling the general community. And we put enormous resources into our departments of corrections patrolling the incarcerated folks. But when people leave the incarcerated environment 

and come back into the community, there is not ordinarily enough 

support for them. And they are usually the folks most likely to 

recidivate, most likely to commit new crimes, most challenging for 

the communities around them, so you would think that that would 

be an area for greater attention and support. 

Clearly what Return House is doing is working. What would you 

describe as the main attributes or characteristics that have led to 

its success? And where does it find its financial support? 

Ms. FLOERSCH. Return House would not have been possible without support from the U.S. Department of Justice, Senator Leahy, 

and the Department of Corrections here in Vermont. Additionally, 

the Youth Service Bureau, Boys and Girls Club raises private 

funds from foundations to support it. We also take all of those 

other varied services we have at our agency and plug in with the 

young people and Return House so there’s sort of a wrap-around 

approach. 

So I would say the success is that we knew we would not go into 

it without 24/7 supervision. Also, that we do, do wrap-around services with substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, trying to help young people learn good leisure skills use. And furtherVerDate Nov 24 2008 11:43 Oct 21, 2010 Jkt 061549 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\61549.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC
21 

more, just the collaboration and coordination with other agencies. 

We work with the Department of Corrections, we have support, 

and we have had from the city of Bare. And we work with Community Action Food Works, other organizations that—so we don’t go 

it alone. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. How important is the focus on a particular 

age group? 

Ms. FLOERSCH. This age—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Could you expand it or do you feel it is 

better to leave it focused on young male adults? 

Ms. FLOERSCH. We focused on young male adults because 

youth—that’s the mission of the Youth Service Bureau Boys and 

Girls Club. So we stay within our mission. But specifically, young 

male adults because they are the largest group of people incarcerated in Vermont and because they’re difficult. They are often, because of their life circumstances, when they get out they are very 

likely to recidivate and need a whole lot of support to figure out 

how to get their lives in order. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. The other program obviously is Vermont 

Works for Women which, Susan, you testified so wonderfully about. 

How did you find out about the program and what can you tell us 

about how it’s funded and where it gets its support? 

SUSAN. Well, I found out about it through when I was incarcerated in St. Albans. That’s where the modular home program is at. 

So, they recruit people who are incarcerated there. 

Their funding I’m not quite sure about because I don’t work 

there. But I’m pretty sure it’s a bunch of different organizations, 

I would have to—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Have to find out? 

SUSAN. Yeah. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. OK. Does anybody else know? Barbara, do 

you know? 

Ms. FLOERSCH. No, I don’t, but—— 

Audience Participant. [Off mic.] I’m with Vermont Works for 

Women. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Oh, wonderful. 

Where do you get your money? 

[Laughter.] 

Audience Participant. [Off mic.] Well, it’s a patchwork quilt that 

we’ve knit together with—we have some private support and the 

Department of Corrections helps to fund it, the Department of Labor’s WEA program helps support participation, and—help provide 

support for the program. 

Chairman LEAHY. I will have the staff meet with you after and 

get that full breakdown so we can have it in the record, name and 

everything else. Thank you. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Well, congratulations and clearly you have 

a wonderful Ambassador for your program here. I’ll reveal an intersenatorial courtesy. During Susan’s testimony the Chairman 

passed me a little note saying, ‘‘she is amazing.’’ 

SUSAN. Thank you. 

Chairman LEAHY. Director Kerlikowske, you’ve heard some of 

this testimony, you were chief of police at a large city on the west 

22 

coast. Did you hear some things that are not that unfamiliar from 

your own experience when you were a chief? 

Mr. KERLIKOWSKE. In many ways, you’re absolutely correct, Senator. One of the—one of the great benefits of having been a police 

chief in both Buffalo and also in Seattle was getting to see the local 

communities come together and to make a difference, not only in 

crime, but what I truly believe is going to be a model for the future 

and that’s the same level of collaboration and cooperation that can 

be put to the drug issue. Right now, as you well know, with health 

care and other issues, it’s very difficult to get a lot of attention to 

the drug problem nationally. But we know that all of these families 

have been touched by this. We know that law enforcement is a big 

proponent of a collaborative effort. The President had instructed 

me to get as much input as I could from around the country. And 

this opportunity to be here in Vermont and to hear this just adds 

to my depth and store of knowledge about the problem. And I appreciate listening to all of the witnesses also. 

Chairman LEAHY. You know, it was interesting when the other 

hearings we had I think the first of the series was down in Rutland. And the Senators who were there heard things they hadn’t 

before. But also the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee that 

has to work on the legislation got a chance. 

I want to yield back to Senator Whitehouse. Go ahead. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Director Kerlikowske, the role of the medical community in addressing our national drug problem is one that 

has emerged recently. I think it’s been a welcome attribute. I’d love 

to ask you a little bit about how you see that role and what you 

think the Office of National Drug Control Policy can do to encourage more engagement and support from the medical community for 

people who are facing what is a, very often, fundamentally medical 

issue of addiction. 

And then if I could ask Colonel L’Esperance, I would be interested in your thoughts on your second tier, getting people into 

rehab and all of that. We started a drug court in Rhode Island 

when I was attorney general that was quite effective. And I would 

be interested in asking you what the means are that you think are 

most effective for transitioning people from their first exposure to 

the law enforcement system into that rehab and medical system. 

If I could ask Director Kerlikowske to go first. 

Mr. KERLIKOWSKE. I think the key is rolling treatment and addiction information into primary health care. As we had the opportunity to work through the administration on the health care issue, 

drug abuse and addiction should not be separate from other parts 

of primary health care. And there’s a wonderful program called 

‘‘screening brief intervention referral to treatment.’’ It teaches 

every health care professional to be able to talk to their patients 

regardless of whether they’re looking at a mole or treating a broken 

finger, to ask about that patient’s alcohol and drug use. And 

through screening and brief intervention, if we make this kind of 

thing a part of primary health care, we will have a huge issue. 

Educating physicians within medical school about either addiction or pain management is another key component. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. That’s helpful. 

Colonel L’Esperance. 

23 

Colonel L’ESPERANCE. Senator, a few years ago we were addressing the methamphetamine problem as it moved west to east. We 

formed the Committee with the Department of Health and a member of the Department of Health made a pretty profound statement 

to me, that from his perspective the No. 1 referral to drug rehab 

was law enforcement. Which indicated to me that certainly we play 

a vital role in transitioning that person, that addict, from the 

criminal justice system into the treatment—treatment arena. I 

don’t think there are any addicts out there that say, today is the 

day I’m going to become a heroin addict. I think it takes time and 

over the course of time that they may become involved in the criminal justice system. 

But our role, from an enforcement perspective, is to have that 

contact and be proponents of the diversion program here in 

Vermont and other programs that—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. You use the diversion program here? 

Colonel L’ESPERANCE. There is a diversion program here. It has 

been challenged in the past. And whether it’s related to legalization 

of marijuana or other drugs, the diversion program may be that 

first encounter that someone has with someone from the treatment 

side or counseling side. So that is a crucial component to not only 

law enforcement, but the state in general, to combat this scourge 

of drugs. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. And in your diversion program, if an individual is diverted toward a rehab program they remain under the 

supervision of law enforcement until they have successfully completed the program; do they not? 

Colonel L’ESPERANCE. If they don’t complete the program successfully, they get back into the criminal justice system. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Yeah. 

Colonel L’ESPERANCE. So there is a component of oversight there. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. That strikes me as being very helpful. If 

you are dealing with nonviolent offenders, it’s often in the community’s best interest to get them through their issues with the drug 

that they are dependent on and back to being productive members 

of the community as rapidly as you can. And while I think the role 

of law enforcement is vital in this area, it has to be tempered with 

the knowledge that sometimes the best role of law enforcement is 

as a spur and a watchdog to keep people doing what they should 

be doing rather than to direct them right into the, for instance, the 

incarcerative system where they become a burden on the taxpayer, 

and if it’s not necessary for people to be incarcerated, if they are 

capable of putting themselves into a helpful and effective role in 

the community more power to them. 

I think we’ve seen an example of that today. 

Chairman LEAHY. You know, Mayor Lauzon was delighted about 

the fact of bringing this in the community and bringing people together talk about it. Let me ask you a question, Colonel, because 

held a—one of these hearings we held, we had a pediatrician who 

came to testify and I remember some eyebrows that went up 

among some of the people in the hearing when he talked about the 

amount of addiction among young people with prescription drugs. 

And that it was not, you know, those people in that other neighborVerDate Nov 24 2008 11:43 Oct 21, 2010 Jkt 061549 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\61549.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC
24 

hood, boy, have they got problem, but rather you may have a problem right at home. 

Are you seeing that? 

Colonel L’ESPERANCE. I think that we could have a task force 

created to just deal with prescription drug abuse, distribution, diversion across the state, across the country, for that matter. We 

have found that the Department of Health created a prescription 

drug monitoring program which will, as it continues to grow, be extremely effective. But what the people in the business to make 

money have realized is you can use the same routes or the same 

avenues to move cocaine that they did prescription drugs. So we 

found that our typical source, cities from outside of the state, are 

now heavily involved in moving prescription drugs into the state. 

So it has gone beyond the diverted drugs from doctor shopping and 

things like that. 

Chairman LEAHY. Well, I think one of the—one of the things that 

concerns me is that some—you mentioned from out of state, that 

some may feel that because we are a small state that we won’t respond. And I think the task force shows that we will. And we have 

to. Whether it’s here in Barre, or Montpelier, or anywhere else in 

the state, we have to. 

Senator. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. I’d love to hear a little bit more about 

HIDTA and how that’s working. We have a very good HIDTA program in Rhode Island, it was one of the first. It took a lot of networking to get it together. In particular, at the time there was a 

certain amount of—suspicion is too strong a word, but there wasn’t 

as strong and robust a working relationship between the state police and municipal law enforcement as has developed since. And 

I’m wondering, first of all, how is the HIDTA project going? What 

have been its main attributes of drawing people together, and has 

it been a force for improved joint effort in the Vermont law enforcement community? 

Colonel L’ESPERANCE. I think that HIDTA was another unique 

entity that has broken down barriers between law enforcement 

agencies. We have a very robust HIDTA, relatively speaking, in the 

Burlington area managed by DEA. We have a trooper assigned to 

it. There are county deputy sheriffs assigned to it along with local 

police who have formed another task force who work in conjunction 

with the Drug Task Force. 

The director of HIDTA was here in the audience, Jay Fallen, and 

he works very hard ensuring that information sharing is taking 

place, deconfliction across New England taking place through the 

HIDTA, the program has been up, if my numbers are correct, since 

the mid- to late 1980s—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Uh-huh. 

Colonel L’ESPERANCE [continuing]. In New England. And we 

have worked very closely with the HIDTA and it brought together 

the Agency heads from across New England to create strategies together that affect all of them. As I mentioned earlier, the source 

cities we find outside of the state of Vermont, Rhode Island, and 

bringing those agency heads together through the HIDTA program 

has been very effective. 

25 

The funding that comes from the HIDTA program is crucial to 

continue that task force environment in the Burlington area. In 

there is direct funding from the domestic highway enforcement 

arena that comes right into the state police. We’re able to inundate 

crime as it crosses the border and work collectively with the Drug 

Task Force in our approaches to the Barre community and the St. 

Albans, and things like that. So, I can’t say enough good things 

about the HIDTA program. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. And we’ve found that the prospect of resources which were fairly considerable through the HIDTA program was a significant attraction for the different agencies to work 

together as was the professional prospect of making big cases. People like to do that professionally and so they were happy to work 

together. Do you see that as well? 

Colonel L’ESPERANCE. I do. I think that we learn from our mistakes over the years that individually we can’t solve these problems. We have to work collectively across the board whether it’s the 

interest border or across state—state lines that these strategies 

that are created across these state lines affect the rural communities of northern Vermont as much as they do the inner city of 

Holyoke and Springfield and places like that, bringing the agency 

heads together to create a long-term strategy has been very effective. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Very good. Well, thank you. Thank you, 

Chairman. 

Chairman LEAHY. Well, thank you. And, again, I thank Mayor 

Lauzon for having us here. But I also am delighted to look around 

here at the number of people represented, whether it’s the state police, local police, Federal authorities, others, educators, and so on. 

With the questions we’ve asked you today, did anybody here in the 

panel want to add anything to this? I mean, we could ask questions 

all day long, but is there something we missed? Anybody want to 

add anything? 

Audience Participant. (Off mike.] Vermont like many states—— 

Chairman LEAHY. Ms. Floersch, would you like to add something? 

Ms. FLOERSCH. Only to really thank the Department of Justice 

for the support for Boys and Girls Club Programs. When I think 

about prevention and what we do in prevention, the resources that 

come from DOJ for prevention through the Boys and Girls Club are 

much appreciated, as well as the intervention and treatment 

through Return House. 

Chairman LEAHY. We have a couple of folks from the Boys and 

Girls Club who are smiling and nodding yes. I don’t think they’re 

asking to have a rebuttal to that. 

Anybody else care to—— 

SUSAN. Yes, Senator Leahy. 

Chairman LEAHY. Yes, please. 

SUSAN. The diversion program—I just wanted to let you know my 

son went through that diversion program. He had some tagging 

issues downtown in Burlington and had to go through the diversion 

program and it really worked. 

Chairman LEAHY. I’m glad to hear that because I know we had 

Chief Shirling, Mike Shirling testify in Washington recently and he 

26 

was talking about the diversion program and how—I know when 

I was state’s attorney, we tried to do this on an ad hoc basis. I 

would have given anything to have had something that was set up 

all the time. Because there are so many cases where if you could 

have something structured short of putting a record that’s going to 

follow somebody—— 

SUSAN. He wouldn’t have made it into the military without the 

diversion program. 

Chairman LEAHY. That’s exactly what I was thinking. When 

you’re talking about Mark and I—Mark wouldn’t be in the military 

today without that. 

SUSAN. That’s right. 

Chairman LEAHY. But, you know, there are a number of other 

Marks who are in that same case. 

Without going into too many war stories, one of our major commanders overseas came to me, a four star general, told me he 

wanted me to speak with his aide who is not—who at that time 

was a major and will be a general. And a wonderful, wonderful soldier. He had been picked up for something that would have stopped 

him from going forward back years ago in Chittening County. I 

watched, I held off the prosecution, held the file, watched what he 

did in school and elsewhere. And after a year he came in to see me 

and wanted to know whether I was going to go forward with the 

case. He recalled and said to the general in talking with me, he remembers me tearing up the file and dropping it in the wastebasket. 

But, sometimes those are very necessary. 

Anybody else want to add anything? 

[No response.] 

Chairman LEAHY. Let me thank all of you and let me also, for 

those who came in later, emphasize, we’ll keep the record open for 

a week. That’s something we normally don’t do that long, but for 

every one of the witnesses, if you want to add anything to your testimony or respond to anything that was said, but also for any member of the community who would like to submit testimony, it will 

be part of the official Washington records. 

I do want to thank my good friend, Sheldon Whitehouse, for coming to Vermont. He’s done this before for us and he has connected 

so many hearings when unfortunately you are supposed to have 

been about five different places. In fact, I’m going back—we’re both 

going back to Washington earlier today than we thought we would 

because of votes, votes tonight. The House of Representatives 

thinks it’s time for the U.S. Senate to do some of these late-night 

sessions. And I have a feeling we will. 

But I thank you for being here and I thank you for all the times 

you filled in as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when 

I’ve been in other hearings. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. I’m delighted to have been here. I think 

it’s been an excellent panel that has given a broad array of views. 

The one person I didn’t ask a question of, I just want to take a moment and express my appreciation to Mr. Quadros. 

The COPS program, the Community Policing Program, which 

Chairman Leahy had so much to do with establishing, stands on 

the principle that it’s really important for the police to reach out 

to the community; not just to show up when a crime has been comVerDate Nov 24 2008 11:43 Oct 21, 2010 Jkt 061549 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\61549.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC
27 

mitted, but to be there on the beat day in and day out and have 

those relationships. And that would never work if it weren’t reciprocal with the community members. So, for a community business 

owner like you to be as engaged is extraordinarily helpful and I 

just wanted to add that before I conclude. 

Mr. QUADROS. Thank you. 

Chairman LEAHY. Oh, I agree with that. 

With that we stand in recess. 

[Whereupon, at 11:02 a.m., the meeting was adjourned.] 

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