BRATTLEBORO — The state of Vermont has signed a five-year, $21.5 million contract with Cornell Abraxas Group, an affiliate of Abraxas Youth & Family Services, which will be establishing a program "to support youth requiring immediate stabilization and assessment," an unlocked crisis stabilization program, supported by trauma-informed counselors with clinical oversight.
West River Haven, in leased space on Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro, will be a three-bed facility for children ages 10 to 18 who need a place to stay for up to 45 days.
Aryka Radke, deputy commissioner of the Family Services Division of the Vermont Agency of Human Services, told the Reformer while the program will be staffed by Cornell Abraxas employees, the program will be regulated by the Family Services Division and must comply with all Vermont regulations.
"The West River Haven will be located inside the Windham County Sheriff’s Office complex," she wrote in an email response to a number of questions from the Reformer. "The program will feature three single-occupancy bedrooms, a staff office, a spacious common room, a full kitchen, and a dining area."
Radke said the state is leasing 3,900-square-feet from the Sheriff's Office, which has no other involvement in the program.
Sheriff Mark Anderson moved his headquarters to Old Ferry Road in 2022, the former corporate offices of Entergy Vermont Yankee, which operated a nuclear power plant in Vernon until 2014. Before Entergy purchased the building in the 1980s, it served as the world headquarters of Famolare Shoes.
"The sheriff has nothing to do with the program, other than leasing the space," affirmed Radke.
Abraxas has come under scrutiny for its operation of Abraxas Academy in Morgantown, Penn., which has a documented history of allegations of staff abuse towards children. The Abraxas Alliance, which operates the academy, and is also an affiliate of Abraxas Youth & Family Services, has received criticism for taking a $9 million federal grant to hold up to 30 unaccompanied migrant children deemed dangers to themselves.
Abraxas Youth & Family Services was founded in 1973 as a single-site nonprofit program in Marienville, Penn. Over the years, it grew into a network of residential and community-based services across multiple states. Abraxas operated under a for-profit model for many years but in 2021, it came under the umbrella of Inperium, a nonprofit based in Reading, Penn., which acts as a parent company to a network of health and human services affiliates, providing administrative support, capital, and infrastructure to non-profit and for-profit entities focusing on behavioral health, disabilities, and child services.
The Family Services Division released three Requests for Proposals, starting in December of 2024, wrote Radke.
"The three RFPs did not elicit any viable bidders. One agency previously bid but couldn't provide the required services. Abraxas was the sole entity to provide a satisfactory proposal, subsequent to the RFP process, capable of meeting the programmatic needs."
Radke also noted that the Family Services Division holds more than 40 contracts with residential providers outside Vermont.
"Currently, 25 of these are either actively serving Vermont youth or have pending placements. Most programs are located in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with others in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, and Arkansas."
Jeff Giovino, CEO of Abraxas Youth & Family Services, stated in a November 2025 news release that Abraxas tailors its programs to the communities it is located in.
“There has never been a one-size-fits-all model. The young people we serve are a product of the environments around them, and we take responsibility for understanding that context so we can support them in practical and respectful ways.”
Abraxas states it provides a continuum of care, ranging from community-based programming to higher-level secure environments, designed to stabilize, educate, and help youth develop tools for decision-making and daily life.
While the facility on Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro is considered "unlocked," said Radke, access will be limited by a 30-second delay in the locking mechanism.
