VERMONT RESTORATIVE REENTRY PARTNERSHIPS (VT)

Program Description
The premise of Vermont's reentry plan is that reentry planning should begin immediately upon admission and that the community should play a role in the reentry and reintegration process. At the start of their sentences, inmates undergo a comprehensive assessment that will guide their enrollment in specific in-prison programs. Inmates are also required to participate in an educational curriculum focusing on restorative justice principles and instructions on how to develop an Offender Responsibility Plan (ORP). This plan shifts the case planning emphasis from concentrating on offender deficits to acknowledging and incorporating the needs of victims and the expectations of communities, while encouraging and supporting offender success. This plan serves as a basis for community reentry and reflects activities in which the offender will be involved, both while incarcerated and while under community supervision.

Community and victim involvement is facilitated through the use of reentry panels, comprised of citizens from the community to which the offender is returning. The reentry panel will monitor the progress of the offender throughout his/ her period of incarceration, receiving reports from the corrections department on issues and treatment progress and meeting with the inmates via video conferencing. Prior to release, offenders will again meet with the citizen panel to explain what they have learned and accomplished while incarcerated and further explain the specifics of their release plans. The panel will have opportunities throughout this process to provide input and recommendations to the offender and DOC staff. Upon release, the former prisoner will meet face-to-face with the reentry panel, and continue to do so approximately every 60 days. Victims will be contacted at the onset of this process to allow them the option of being involved.

The restorative reentry partnership program is being piloted in Burlington, with plans to expand to some of the 60 citizen boards throughout the state.

Program Goals
The goals of the Vermont reentry program are to help released prisoners achieve successful reintegration while also engaging and restoring the community.

Networking, Partnering & Collaboration
The project has a number of collaborative partners including citizens, victims, and victim services groups, law enforcement, housing agencies, workforce development, and community treatment providers.

Outcomes
No outcome data was provided.

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