Vermont AG Settles with United Counseling Services for $480,000

AG: Vermont Press Releases

Filed March 12th, 2026

Detected March 18th, 2026

Summary

The Vermont Attorney General's Office has settled with United Counseling Services (UCS) for $483,464 over allegations of service failures that posed public safety risks. The settlement requires UCS to implement significant organizational reforms and external oversight.

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What changed

The Vermont Attorney General's Office announced a settlement with United Counseling Services (UCS) of Bennington County, Inc., requiring UCS to pay $483,464 to the State. This action resolves allegations of significant service and supervision failures concerning developmental disability service recipients who posed serious public safety risks, including behaviors involving sexual violence or crimes against children. The investigation, initiated in May 2023 following a complaint from the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), found at least 10 cases of ongoing failures that leadership allegedly ignored or resisted correction.

As part of the settlement, UCS must implement dramatic organizational reforms, including appointing an external oversight monitor, hiring a new director of quality for day-to-day management of the affected division, and publicly reporting substantive corrections for up to three years. This settlement aims to improve the safety of UCS service recipients and the public. Regulated entities, particularly healthcare providers handling vulnerable populations, should review their internal controls and oversight mechanisms to prevent similar failures and ensure compliance with state and federal regulations.

What to do next

Review internal controls for service recipients with public safety risks
Ensure leadership responsiveness to quality and safety concerns
Implement external oversight and public reporting as required by settlement terms

Penalties

$483,464 settlement payment

Source document (simplified)

Attorney General Clark Announces $480,000 Settlement with United Counseling Services Over Public Safety Failures

Category Press Releases March 12, 2026 The Attorney General’s Office today announced that it has reached a settlement with United Counseling Service of Bennington County, Inc. (UCS), resolving allegations of service failures that resulted in serious safety risks to Medicaid recipients and to the public. Under the settlement, UCS will pay the State of Vermont $483,464 and implement dramatic organizational reforms, including appointing an external oversight monitor, hiring a new director of quality to take over day-to-day management of the division, and publicly reporting substantive corrections for up to three years.

“The safety of all Vermonters is of the utmost concern in Medicaid fraud investigations and enforcement efforts, and I want to thank my team and our partners at the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living for their joint efforts in resolving this matter,” said Attorney General Charity Clark. “This settlement was designed to improve the safety of UCS service recipients and the safety of the public in the communities they serve.”

The Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit’s (MFRAU) investigation began in May of 2023, when it received a complaint from the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living – Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DAIL-DDSD), alleging failures in UCS’s care, monitoring and oversight of certain Vermont developmental disability service recipients who pose serious public safety risks, typically for behaviors involving sexual violence or crimes against children.

The resulting State investigation found at least 10 cases of ongoing service and supervision failures that caused serious and preventable risks to both those service recipients and to members of the public in contact with those individuals. Further, the State alleges that UCS Developmental Services staff were aware of the organization’s ongoing failures and that leadership persistently ignored or actively resisted DAIL correction. As a result, in December of 2025, DAIL began the process of de-designating UCS from receiving further developmental service contracts and directed UCS to transfer these service recipients to other organizations. This process is ongoing currently.

A copy of the settlement agreement announced today is available on our website.

If you suspect that someone is being or has been neglected or abused, contact local law enforcement immediately. Neglect and abuse may also be reported to Adult Protective Services by calling 800-564-1612.

If you suspect Medicaid fraud, contact MFRAU via our website.

The Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $1,497,780 for Federal fiscal year FY 2026. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $499,260 for FY 2026, is funded by the State of Vermont.

CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, 802-828-3171