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State Reform Profile

Vermont

Vermont has one of the lowest incarceration rates, with Reparative Probation as a national model.

ALTREFORM COMPOSITE86/100

Key Statistics

Incarceration Rate
176
per 100,000 residents
Annual Cost
$50K
per incarcerated person
3-Year Recidivism
49%
reincarcerated within 3 yrs
Racial Disparity
5.8×
Black vs. White incarceration
Alt. Programs
22
active diversion programs
Reform Initiatives
9
tracked by AltReform

Incarceration by Race

VT Overall176
National Avg568
Black (est.)612
White (est.)60

Incarceration rate per 100,000 residents. Racial estimates based on BJS/Sentencing Project methodology.

Recidivism Rate

49%3-year recidivism
This stateNational avg: 67%

Percent of people reincarcerated within 3 years of release. Source: BJS recidivism data series.

Cost vs. Alternatives

$50K
incarceration/yr
vs.
~$5K
diversion/yr

Active & Passed Reforms

3 initiatives

Reparative Justice ProgramView full details →

Community reparative boards as alternative to prosecution – a national model.

ActiveDiversion1995
AltReform Score89/100

H.511 – Marijuana LegalizationView full details →

First state to legalize marijuana through the legislature (not ballot).

PassedDrug Policy2018
AltReform Score86/100

S.54 – Expungement ExpansionView full details →

Expanded automatic expungement.

PassedReentry2020
AltReform Score82/100

Data Sources & Methodology

Reform data sourced from state legislative records, BJS Criminal Justice Statistics, the Vera Institute Incarceration Trends dataset, and The Sentencing Project. AltReform prediction scores (0,100) are generated by our ML model trained on 20+ years of state-level reform outcomes, weighting recidivism reduction, racial equity impact, cost-effectiveness, and political feasibility. Statistics are the most recent available (2021,2024).

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