This approach would provide housing, sheltered employment, substance abuse counseling, and mental health services rather than using the criminal justice system as the "institution of last resort" for disabled defendants. Vermont Initiatives for Defendant Accommodation One successful Vermont initiative for defendant accommodation noted in the VDAP was pioneered by Associate Justice Marilyn Skoglund of the Vermont Supreme Court. Justice Skoglund conducted a study to determine the required reading level for understanding court documents. The study revealed that standard conditions of release and conditions of probation forms required a 12th grade reading level—even though 95% of typical defendants in Vermont have not finished high school. In response, Justice Skoglund revised the standard conditions and application for public defender services to require an 8th grade reading level. The VDAP provides many suggestions for defendant accommodation, such as a revised Miranda warning for mentally retarded defendants and sufferers of HLD: Source: "Vermont Defendant Accommodation Project", Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 10, No. 1/2, pg. 147 (2004) National statistics Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, September 2006 References External links Vermont Defendant Accommodation Project U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime in the United States