Title 28, Public Institutions and Corrections

§ 755. Disposition of earnings An inmate participating in a work release program shall cause to be given to the Commissioner the inmate’s total earnings less payroll deductions authorized by law, including income taxes. Upon receipt of the earnings the Commissioner, to the extent…

§ 757. Inmate not an agent of the State No inmate participating in any work release program, or engaged in work, industry, or employment at a correctional facility, or any community service or a public works activity or vocational training at a correctional facility or in the com…

§ 758. Release from a correctional facility to do work in the service of such facility or of the Department The supervising officer of any correctional facility may permit an inmate to leave the facility for the purpose of performing maintenance work or farm work, or any other wo…

§ 759. Employment and furlough of an inmate during the pendency of prosecution (a) A person confined at a correctional facility during the pendency of a prosecution against him or her may request to be employed pursuant to the provisions of section 751 of this title. Upon receipt…

§ 760. Compensation of offenders (a) The Commissioner, in consultation with the Department of Labor, shall adopt rules establishing an injured offender compensation program for offenders or their dependents for injuries suffered while under supervision by the Department and arisi…

§ 761. Offender work programs expansion The Vermont Correctional Industries component of the offender work programs shall not expand into an existing market until the Commissioner or designee has evaluated the impact of expansion on private sector business. (Added 1997, No. 62, §…

§ 801. Medical care of inmates (a) Provision of medical care. The Department shall provide health care for inmates in accordance with the prevailing medical standards. When the provision of such care requires that the inmate be taken outside the boundaries of the correctional fac…

§ 801a. Pregnant inmates (a) It shall be the policy of the State of Vermont to respect the unique health issues associated with a pregnant inmate. The Department of Corrections shall not routinely restrain pregnant inmates who are beyond their first trimester of pregnancy in the …

§ 801b. Medication for opioid use disorder in correctional facilities (a) If an inmate receiving medication for opioid use disorder prior to entering the correctional facility continues to receive medication prescribed in the course of medication for opioid use disorder pursuant …

§ 802. Correspondence of inmates (a) Any authorized employee of any correctional facility shall have the right to inspect all correspondence by or to inmates of the facility. The employee shall have the right to withhold and prevent the transmission of material intended to be sen…

§ 802a. Telephone use; debit and collect call systems (a) Upon admittance to a correctional facility, the inmate shall within 24 hours be allowed access to a telephone for outgoing telephone calls at the expense of the inmate. (b) An inmate shall be allowed easy access in placing…

§ 803. Exercise of religious beliefs (a) An inmate at any correctional facility shall have the right of free exercise of his or her religious beliefs, and shall have the right to receive visitations from a clergyperson or other representative of his or her faith in case of illnes…

§ 804. Right of inmates to confer with counsel If an inmate in any facility expresses a desire to see and confer with a practicing attorney of the State, the supervising officer of the facility shall authorize, except in cases of imminent danger of injury to person or of escape, …

§ 805. Counsel for an inmate confined during the pendency of prosecution When a person is confined to a correctional facility during the pendency of a prosecution against him or her, such inmate shall be allowed conference with his or her counsel of record, which conferences may …

§ 806. Allowances to inmates It shall be within the discretion of the Commissioner to authorize the payment of allowances, from funds appropriated by the Legislature, to inmates of any correctional facility for the purpose of allowing the inmates to purchase personal articles and…

§ 807. Voting rights (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who is convicted of a crime shall retain the right to vote by early voter absentee ballot in a primary or general election at the person’s last voluntary residence during the term of the person’s commit…

§ 808. Temporary furloughs granted to offenders (a) The Department may extend the limits of the place of confinement of an offender at any correctional facility if the offender agrees to comply with such conditions of supervision the Department, in its sole discretion, deems appr…

§ 808a. Treatment furlough (a) An offender may be sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment, but placed by a court on treatment furlough to participate in such programs administered by the Department in the community that reduce the offender’s risk to reoffend or that provide rep…

§ 808e. Absconding from furlough; warrant (a) “Absconded” has the same meaning as “absconding” as defined in subdivision 724(d)(2)(C) of this title. (b) The Commissioner of Corrections may issue a warrant for the arrest of a person who has absconded from furlough status in violat…

§ 809. Pardons; application; notice; hearing; decision (a) When a person in confinement under sentence for a term of one year or more at any correctional facility applies to the Governor for a pardon, the application shall be in writing stating in substance the reasons for the ap…

§ 810. Conditional pardon; breach (a) In his or her discretion, the Governor may grant a pardon for offenses against the State upon the conditions as he or she judges proper. Until a person to whom a conditional pardon is granted is excused from the performance of the conditions …

§ 811. Work camps; reduction of term A reduction of up to 30 days in the minimum and maximum terms of confinement may be made in accordance with a policy established by the director of a work camp in which an inmate is confined for each month during which the inmate demonstrates,…

§ 812. Denial of good time credit If during the term of confinement an inmate commits any offense or violates any rule or regulation of the facility wherein he or she is confined, all or a portion of his or her good behavior reductions for the month of the offense or violation ma…

§ 813. Restoration of reductions The supervising officer of any facility wherein an inmate is confined may restore, following the established procedures within the facility, any denied or forfeited good behavior reductions or such portions thereof as he or she deems proper upon a…

§ 814. Appointment of agent, attorney, or trustee for an inmate (a) A person confined under a sentence of imprisonment shall not be allowed to engage actively in the pursuit of business or other economic interests unless he or she is placed on work release pursuant to section 753…

§ 815. Development of guidelines; visitation and recreation (a) Those sheriffs who administer jails or county lock-ups shall provide all inmates reasonable visitation and recreation opportunities. (b) The Commissioner, in cooperation with those sheriffs who administer jails or co…

§ 816. Inmate Recreation Fund The Department shall accept monies generated by commissions on telephone services, commissary sales, and sales of approved items not available on commissary by the Department to inmates at its correctional facilities and shall establish with such mon…

§ 817. Creation of work camps; intent It is the intent of the General Assembly that the creation of one or more new work camps in fiscal year 2006 and after will help alleviate overcrowded conditions in the State’s correctional facilities and permit Vermonters housed in out-of-st…

§ 818. Earned time; reduction of term (a) On or before September 1, 2020, the Department of Corrections shall file a proposed rule pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 implementing an earned time program to become effective on January 1, 2021. The Commissioner shall adopt rules to car…

§ 820. Prison rape elimination standards (a) The Department of Corrections shall adopt and comply with the Prison Rape Elimination Act national standards, 28 C.F.R. Part 115, in effect as of January 1, 2024, for the prevention, detection, and monitoring of, and response to, sexua…

§ 851. General provisions The supervising officer of each facility shall be responsible for the discipline, control, and safe custody of the inmates therein. No inmate shall be punished except under the order of the officer or of a deputy designated by him or her for the purpose,…

§ 852. Disciplinary committee; hearing (a) The supervising officer of each facility shall appoint a disciplinary committee where appropriate from among the staff of the facility. The supervising officer may designate himself or herself or a subordinate as chair of the committee. …

§ 853. Punishment; maintenance of records; recommendation of transfer (a)(1) Except in serious cases as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, punishment for a breach of the rules and regulations of the facility shall consist of deprivation of privileges. (2) Serious bre…

§ 854. Grievances The Commissioner shall establish procedures to review the grievances of inmates. The Commissioner may utilize the services of a hearing officer to review grievances. Such procedures shall provide for the following: (1) The review of grievances shall be by a pers…

§ 855. Hearing officers The Commissioner may appoint such hearing officers as are necessary to conduct administrative hearings within the Department. (Added 1973, No. 206 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. May 3, 1974.)

§ 856. Special management meals (a) When an inmate misuses bodily waste or fluids, food, or eating utensils, the supervising officer of the facility or his or her designee may order that the inmate be served special management meals in lieu of regular inmate meals pursuant to thi…

§ 857. Administrative segregation; procedural requirements (a) Except in emergency circumstances as described in subsection (b) of this section, before an inmate is placed in administrative segregation, regardless of whether that inmate has been designated as having a serious fun…

§ 901. Evaluation and treatment facilities The Department shall operate or cause to be operated one or more facilities for the evaluation and treatment of offenders. The facilities may be either residential or nonresidential. (Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20.)

§ 902. Commitment and sentencing When a person is convicted of a crime before a court having criminal jurisdiction punishable by imprisonment, the court, in its discretion, before sentence may, with the consent of the Commissioner, order the person committed on a temporary basis …

§ 903. Access to treatment pending appeal; rule Treatment, assessment, evaluation, screening, or programming shall not be restricted or denied to inmates on the basis of any anticipated or pending direct or collateral appeal of any criminal conviction, nor on the basis of any pos…

§ 905. Legislative intent It is the intent of the General Assembly that the serious functional impairment designation apply solely to individuals residing in a correctional facility and not to individuals reentering the community after incarceration. (Added 2013, No. 123 (Adj. Se…

§ 906. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Serious functional impairment” means: (A) a disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory as diagnosed by a qualified mental health professional, which substantially impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recogn…

§ 907. Mental health service for inmates; powers and responsibilities of Commissioner The Commissioner shall administer a program of trauma-informed mental health services that shall be available to all inmates and shall provide adequate staff to support the program. The program …

§ 908. Access to mental health services; notice The Commissioner shall ensure that notice of services available to inmates and the manner in which those services are made available to inmates is widely disseminated to staff and inmates throughout the Department. (Added 1993, No. …

§ 910. Restorative Justice Program This chapter establishes a program of restorative justice for use with offenders required to participate in such a program as a sentence or a condition of a sentence of probation. The Program shall be carried out by community reparative boards u…

§ 910a. Reparative boards; functions (a) The Commissioner shall establish reparative boards and appoint to them members of the community with the advice and recommendation of nonprofit organizations or municipal entities in the localities concerned. The Commissioner shall appoint…