In 2023, the average daily population of incarcerated individuals was 1,350 and the five-year average was 1,431 (JAN 1, 2019- DEC 31, 2023)

The Vermont Department of Public Safety received a $136,885 Formula Grant award from the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State Prisoners Program (CFDA 16.593). The grant will support the establishment of a residential substance use disorder treatment program at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in Burlington, Vermont to serve incarcerated individuals with substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders across the state. Key objectives include reducing substance abuse, decreasing recidivism, and facilitating successful community reintegration through evidence-based treatment, counseling, and comprehensive reentry services. The grant period runs from Oct 1, 2024 through Sep 30, 2028.

Nationally, data shows that 50-75% of incarcerated individuals have a clinical substance abuse diagnosis. Justice-involved individuals have disproportionately high rates of substance use disorders and infectious diseases, including hepatitis c and HIV/aids. This disproportionate impact provides an opportunity to integrate treatment and improve outcomes for both substance use disorders and infectious diseases. Therefore, in order to address this comorbidity effectively we must ensure that community health, drug treatment, and criminal justice agencies work together to offer education, screening, counseling, prevention, and treatment programs for HIV/aids, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases to offenders returning to the community. Vermont act 176 directs the vermont department of corrections (VT DOC) to provide access to all three federally approved mat drugs (currently: buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone) for all incarcerated individuals who meet diagnostic criteria for OUD, and elect to do so, for as long as medically necessary. Any incarcerated individual nearing release who is not already maintained on mat and who has an OUD diagnosis will if at all possible and if safe to do so, be inducted prior to release if they so elect. The VT DOC will allocate rsat funding to support the jail-based program at chittenden regional correctional facility in burlington, vermont. Although this facility is located in the most populous county of the state, IT is the only vermont facility housing incarcerated females, and therefore IT serves all areas of the state, the majority of which is rural.