Marriage and Relationships During Incarceration in Vermont

Schema: Article + FAQPage

Internal links (5): Vermont inmate search, send money, visitation guide (VTDOC), Staying Connected hub, Vermont reentry resources

Voice: Formerly-incarcerated experience, not expert advice. Real. No fluff. Honest about doubt.

META BLOCK:

Relationships During Incarceration in Vermont | InmateAid

Vermont has six correctional facilities. As of late 2024, the total incarcerated population across all six is approximately 1,400 people. For context: Rhode Island, another small state in this series, has about 3,800 in operational capacity. Texas has more than 100 facilities. Vermont's entire prison population would fill a single medium-sized facility in most other states.

Vermont is the second-least-populous state in the country. Its correctional system is correspondingly small. The six facilities are distributed across the state -- from Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield in the southeast to Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport on the Canadian border in the far north -- but Vermont is only 158 miles north to south. Most facilities are within 2 to 3 hours of each other.

Vermont is the only corrections department in the nation housed under the Agency of Human Services rather than a public safety or law enforcement department. This is not a minor administrative detail. It reflects something about how Vermont's correctional philosophy is framed -- as human services, not primarily as enforcement.

Vermont does house a small number of men out of state due to capacity constraints. The VTDOC constituent services page has a specific FAQ section for families of those incarcerated out of state.

Vermont does not have conjugal visits. Phone service through ICS Corrections (not GTL), billed through ICSolutions (icsolutions.com; 888-506-8407). Visiting and video visits scheduled through GTL VisitMe/ConnectNetwork.

There are no experts here. We have experience. You measure your situation against ours and decide what is true for you.

The Wife and the Girlfriend Are Not the Same Person

It happens in Vermont visiting rooms the same way it happens everywhere else -- at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland, at Northwest State Correctional Facility in Swanton near the Canadian border, at Southern State in Springfield, at Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, at Chittenden Regional in South Burlington where Vermont's only women's facility is housed.

Some of the men inside are running two tracks. There is the woman who knows the real situation and the woman who knows the version he performs. Vermont's communities are small. Burlington, the largest city, has about 45,000 people. The correctional facilities are embedded in communities that are small enough that the visiting community at each facility is not anonymous. Both tracks in a Vermont prison are likely from the same county. They may know each other.

The one who knows the real situation is talking about the now. She is managing a Vermont household -- in Burlington, in Rutland, in St. Johnsbury, in Springfield, in one of the smaller towns or the rural communities of a state where most people live outside the cities -- and she is doing it without another adult. Vermont has a strong sense of community but also a culture of self-reliance. When the news is bad, the community adjusts. Some people show up. Some people disappear. In Vermont's small towns, everyone knows what has happened within a week.

The other one is talking about the future. She is holding onto a version of the relationship that has not been tested by ordinary Vermont life.

He treats them differently. With the one who knows everything he is more transactional, more likely to bring up what he needs before asking how she is. With the other one he is more careful, still performing.

Some women reading this are the one who knows everything. Some are the other one. Some are finding out right now which one they are.

If you are not sure: does he know what is actually happening in your week, or does he only know what he needs from it? Are you the person he calls when something is good, or only when something is needed? Have you ever met anyone in his life who knew about you?

The answers are not comfortable. But they are information.

The Commissary Conversation

The phone call in Vermont goes through ICS Corrections, Inc. (not GTL, which is the provider at most states in this series). The billing agent is ICSolutions (icsolutions.com; 888-506-8407). Prepaid Collect accounts allow calls to cell phones; Debit calling also available. Vermont statute requires phone access within 24 hours of admission and that telecom contracts provide the lowest reasonable cost to inmates and their families. Pending legislation in 2025 addressed DOC commissions on calls.

ICS Tablets have been distributed to all VTDOC facilities. Gold Passes provide the incarcerated individual with an hour of flex gold pass time on the tablet system.

He is dependent. He cannot buy his own hygiene products or extra food without trust account funds. Money deposited online at accesscorrections.com or by Deposit Coupon (available from inmates, in facility lobbies, or on the VTDOC website). Debit phone accounts at vermontpackage.com; Prepaid phone accounts at offenderconnect.com or 1-800-483-8314.

You are managing a Vermont household. Vermont is expensive for a small state, particularly for heating -- a Vermont winter requires real budget for fuel. Burlington and the Chittenden County area have become more expensive. The smaller cities and rural communities have their own economic pressures. Whatever the local reality, the bills do not pause.

Set a sustainable monthly number. Communicate it. Hold it. Consistency matters more than any single large deposit.

The Scale of Vermont

Vermont's entire prison population would be unremarkable as a count at a large facility in another state. About 1,400 people. Six facilities. The largest -- Northern State in Newport -- holds 433.

What this scale means: the correctional system operates in a context where most of the incarcerated people and most of the families are from the same small state with the same small communities. There is no anonymity. The chaplain, the case manager, and the visiting staff at a Vermont facility may well recognize the families who come regularly. The systems are small enough to be personal in a way that 30,000-inmate systems simply are not.

What the small scale does not change: the sentence is still the sentence. The loneliness at home is still the loneliness at home. The phone call still ends. The visit still ends. The children are still watching her to understand how they are supposed to feel about all of this.

Vermont's small scale also means: when bed space runs short, VTDOC sends some men out of state. If your partner has been transferred out of Vermont, the VTDOC constituent services page at doc.vermont.gov/information-inmate-families-and-friends has a specific FAQ section for families in this situation. The visit that would have been a 2-hour drive becomes a flight or a very long drive to another state.

The Only Women's Facility in Vermont

Vermont has one facility for women: Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF) in South Burlington. South Burlington is adjacent to Burlington, Vermont's largest city, in Chittenden County on the western shore near Lake Champlain.

For women sentenced anywhere in Vermont, CRCF in South Burlington is the facility. For a woman from Newport in the far north: about 90 miles south on I-91 and I-89. For a woman from Springfield in the southeast: about 110 miles northwest. For a woman from St. Johnsbury in the northeast: about 85 miles west.

These distances are not extreme. Vermont is a small state. But CRCF is in the northwest and some women come from the opposite corner. The drives are manageable but real.

CRCF's main line is 802-863-7356.

What She Is Carrying That He Cannot See

When he went in, she absorbed everything he used to do. Every decision. Every bill. Every school meeting and sick kid and broken furnace in a Vermont January and form that needs a signature. Every night the house is quiet in a way that is not peace.

Vermont's communities are tight. In Burlington there is some degree of urban anonymity. In St. Johnsbury, in Rutland, in Newport, in the small towns that make up most of Vermont's communities, there is almost none. The news travels. Some people disappear when it does. Some offer opinions. What Vermont communities sometimes provide better than larger states: actual showing up. A neighbor who brings food. A friend who sits with the children. But the showing up is not guaranteed and the judgment is always in the room alongside it.

Vermont winters are serious. November through April, heating costs, road conditions, isolation. The warmth of a Vermont summer gives way to months that require real fuel budget and real planning. She is managing this alone.

The person inside experiences deprivation. What he often cannot see is that she is deprived too -- not of freedom but of partnership, of another adult, of someone to hand the weight to at the end of the day. The resentment that grows from that gap is real. It is not a sign the relationship is wrong. It is a sign both of them are under a pressure most couples never face.

The Doubt Is Normal

At some point, most women in this situation think about leaving.

Maybe it was the ICS call that turned into a fight about commissary. Maybe it was a Vermont February when the heating bill was at its peak and there was nobody to call. Maybe it was the news that he was being sent out of state and the visit that was two hours away became a flight. Maybe it was the small-town knowledge that everyone within ten miles knew what had happened before she had a chance to decide who to tell.

The thought is not betrayal. It is what happens when a person carries more than they were built to carry alone.

Some women leave. Some should. The sentence can reveal things about the relationship that were already true. Leaving is not failure.

Some women stay and build something. Not the relationship they had before. Something different. Something tested in a way most couples never are. The ones who build something stopped pretending and had the real conversations.

We are not going to tell you to stay or go. We will tell you that the doubt is not proof the relationship is wrong. It is proof that you are paying attention.

The Social Isolation Nobody Warns You About

Vermont's communities are small and the culture is one of self-reliance. People manage their own affairs. When something happens, neighbors may not know what to say. The showing up that Vermont communities sometimes do well is not universal and is not guaranteed.

Vermont has legal aid organizations including Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Law Line of Vermont. The Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services. The Dismas of Vermont reentry program. VTDOC's constituent services at doc.vermont.gov provides family-facing resources. If you can find one person who can hold your reality without judgment, find them and let them in.

Visiting in Vermont: Six Facilities, Small State, Check Schedules

Vermont does not have conjugal visits. No private time at any VTDOC facility.

**Facilities:**

- Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF, women's): 7 Farrell Street, South Burlington, VT 05403; 802-863-7356

- Northwest State Correctional Facility (NWSCF): 3649 Lower Newton Road, Swanton, VT 05488; 802-524-6771. Franklin County, near St. Albans, northwestern Vermont.

- Northern State Correctional Facility (NSCF, largest men's facility): 2559 Glen Road, Newport, VT 05855; 802-334-3364. Orleans County, far north on Canadian border.

- Northeast Correctional Complex (NERCF + CCWC): 1266-1270 US Route 5, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819; 802-748-8151. Caledonia County, northeastern Vermont.

- Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility (MVRCF): 167 State Street, Rutland, VT 05701; 802-786-5830. Rutland County, central Vermont.

- Southern State Correctional Facility (SSCF): 700 Charlestown Road, Springfield, VT 05156; 802-885-9800. Windsor County, southeastern Vermont.

**Visiting process:**

- In-person and video visits available.

- Adults must complete approval steps, present government-issued photo ID, follow dress and conduct rules.

- Visits limited by protective orders or disqualifying convictions.

- Schedules are unit-specific and change. Always call the facility or check the VTDOC website before traveling.

- GTL VisitMe / ViaPath/ConnectNetwork for scheduling and video visits.

**Out-of-state housing:**

- Vermont houses a small number of men out of state when bed space is unavailable in Vermont.

- If your partner is housed out of state: see the FAQ section on the VTDOC constituent services page at doc.vermont.gov/information-inmate-families-and-friends.

**Phone:**

- ICS Corrections, Inc. (not GTL). Billing agent: ICSolutions (icsolutions.com; 888-506-8407).

- Prepaid Collect for calls to cell phones. Debit calling also available.

- ICS Tablets at all facilities. Gold Passes provide one hour of flex gold time.

**Money:**

- Online deposits: accesscorrections.com; 1-800-546-6283 or 1-866-345-1884.

- Debit phone: vermontpackage.com.

- Prepaid phone: offenderconnect.com or 1-800-483-8314.

- Deposit Coupons available in facility lobbies or on VTDOC website.

**VTDOC HQ and constituent services:**

- 426 Industrial Ave, Williston, VT 05495; 802-241-2442; doc.vermont.gov

- Constituent services: doc.vermont.gov/information-inmate-families-and-friends

The Practical Layer: What Needs to Happen

When a partner is incarcerated in Vermont, the practical tasks land on the person outside.

**Power of attorney.** Any legal or financial matter requiring his signature needs power of attorney. VTDOC facilities have notary services. LawDepot offers templates. Do this early.

**Vermont marital property.** Vermont is an equitable distribution state, not community property. Marital assets divided fairly but not necessarily equally. Understand what you are jointly responsible for.

**Joint finances.** Address shared accounts now. Joint debts continue.

**Benefits.** SNAP, Vermont Medicaid (Green Mountain Care), childcare assistance through Child Care Financial Assistance Program, energy assistance through LIHEAP and FUEL (Fuel Assistance Program). Vermont's winter energy assistance programs are worth knowing about. Use what exists.

**ICSolutions account.** Set up at icsolutions.com for phone calls. 888-506-8407. Prepaid Collect for cell phones. Fund the account before expecting calls.

**Money deposits.** accesscorrections.com or Deposit Coupon. Debit phone at vermontpackage.com. Prepaid phone at offenderconnect.com. 1-800-546-6283 or 1-866-345-1884 for order help.

**Out-of-state placement.** If he is transferred out of state: contact VTDOC constituent services immediately. The visiting process, the address for mail, and the phone system may all differ from Vermont procedures at the out-of-state facility. doc.vermont.gov/information-inmate-families-and-friends has a specific FAQ for this situation.

**Vermont winters.** The furnace. The heating oil. Budget for November through April. This is not optional and there is nobody else to handle it.

None of this is the romantic part of the relationship. All of it is the relationship.

For the Partner Inside: What You Cannot See

This section is for him.

Vermont's communities are small. The news travels. She is managing a small-town or small-city Vermont household where people know what happened and watch what she does about it. That social visibility is a real weight.

The ICS call costs money. Use it for connection. Ask about her week before asking about his books. Vermont statute requires phone access within 24 hours of admission. Use that access for the relationship.

The Gold Pass on the tablet provides an hour of flex time. Use some of that hour to send something to the children.

And if he is being housed out of state: understand what the visit now costs her. A 2-hour drive became a flight. That is a different ask than it was before.

When He Gets Out: The Part Nobody Wants to Say

The girlfriend who held onto the idea of him -- who drove to Newport or Rutland or Springfield and filled the ICS calls with future-talk and hope -- is usually gone within the first month after release. The adjustment to ordinary Vermont life, the job search with a record in a state with a strong but small economy, the way he is different from what she remembered -- it is harder than the visits suggested. Most of those relationships do not survive contact with Tuesday.

The woman who managed the Vermont household alone -- who kept the furnace going through February and renewed the visiting privileges and drove through snow to the facility and came back and came back again, who told the truth about the money and stayed when staying was the hardest thing -- she already knows who he is under pressure. She has no illusions left. That absence of illusion is what makes rebuilding possible.

Reentry in Vermont is hard. Vermont's economy, though strong in some sectors, is small. Felony records limit employment in a tight market. Vermont winters do not wait for anyone to get sorted. Supervision conditions under probation/parole are real constraints.

The girlfriend is hoping for the relationship she imagined. The woman who wrote through thick and thin is working with the one that actually exists.

FAQ

**How many people are incarcerated in Vermont state prisons?** About 1,400 as of late 2024, across six facilities. Vermont has one of the smallest prison populations in the country. The largest facility -- Northern State in Newport -- holds about 433 people.

**Does Vermont house inmates out of state?** Yes. When bed space in Vermont is insufficient, a small number of men are housed in correctional facilities in other states. If your partner is in an out-of-state facility, the VTDOC constituent services page at doc.vermont.gov/information-inmate-families-and-friends has a specific FAQ section with information for families in this situation.

**Does Vermont have conjugal visits?** No. Vermont does not have conjugal visits at any VTDOC facility.

**What phone provider does Vermont use?** ICS Corrections, Inc. (not GTL, which is used by most other states in this series). The billing agent is ICSolutions (icsolutions.com; 888-506-8407). Prepaid Collect allows calls to cell phones. ICS Tablets have been distributed to all VTDOC facilities.

**Where is Vermont's only women's prison?** Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CRCF) in South Burlington, adjacent to Burlington in northwestern Vermont. 7 Farrell Street, South Burlington, VT 05403; 802-863-7356.

**Is it normal to think about leaving?** Yes. Almost every woman in this situation thinks about it at some point. Vermont's small scale means the communities are tight and the social visibility is real -- everyone knows what happened, and she is managing all of it alone through a Vermont winter. The thought does not mean the relationship is over. If the thought comes with relief rather than grief, that is worth taking seriously.

**What happens to the relationship when he gets out?** Reentry in Vermont is hard. The economy is small and employment for felony records is constrained. Vermont winters require real resources. Supervision conditions are real. Relationships built on calls and visits and future-talk often do not survive contact with ordinary life. The ones that have the best chance are built on honesty about who both people are under pressure.

[SPEC NOTE: Folder 16R8MTFxsOtqCIV4-WZb9Ys4mX8tc7YRR. Internal CTAs: Vermont inmate search, send money, visitation guide VTDOC, Staying Connected hub, Vermont reentry resources. SOURCING: doc.vermont.gov/about-us (VTDOC sole agency incarceration and community supervision; Vermont 6 correctional facilities 12 Probation & Parole Offices; houses small number men out of state lack bed space; only corrections department in nation under Agency of Human Services; 1000+ staff positions; Roadmap to 2030 four priorities Staff/Staffing Health/Wellness DEI Modernization); doc.vermont.gov/information-inmate-families-and-friends (FAQ for families housed out of state; ICS tablets all facilities; Gold Passes one hour flex gold pass; constituent services); doc.vermont.gov/correctional-facilities (6 facilities: MVRCF Rutland / NERCF+CCWC St Johnsbury / NSCF Newport / NWSCF Swanton / SSCF Springfield / CRCF South Burlington; confidential attorney lines each facility); icscorrections.com/facilities/vt_doc.html (VTDOC contracted ICS Corrections for calling; ICSolutions billing agent; Prepaid Collect to cell phones 888-506-8407; Debit calling; first accepted call 60-sec complimentary if no account; refunds 888-506-8407); doc.state.vt.us/information-for-inmate-families-and-friends (accesscorrections.com online deposits; Deposit Coupon from inmates lobby or website; vermontpackage.com debit phone; offenderconnect.com 1-800-483-8314 prepaid; accesscorrections.com 1-800-546-6283 1-866-345-1884; VTDOC recommends families not deposit for other inmates); legislature.vermont.gov (Vermont statute telephone access within 24 hours admission; contracts lowest reasonable cost to inmates families; 1995 No 185 amended 2001); vermontprisons.org/inmate-visitation/ (GTL VisitMe ViaPath ConnectNetwork for scheduling and video; in-person and video formats; adults approval steps government photo ID dress conduct rules; visits limited protective orders disqualifying convictions; call before traveling schedules change; CRCF 7 Farrell St South Burlington 802-863-7356; NWSCF 3649 Lower Newton Rd Swanton 802-524-6771; SSCF 700 Charlestown Rd Springfield 802-885-9800); vermontcourtrecords.us (NSCF 2559 Glen Road Newport 802-334-3364 capacity 433 largest men's prison; CRCF South Burlington women's only; MVRCF 167 State Street Rutland 802-786-5830; NERCF 1266-1270 US Route 5 St Johnsbury 802-748-8151; NWSCF 3649 Lower Newton Road St Albans 802-524-6771; SSCF 700 Charlestown Road Springfield 802-885-9800; approximately 1422 prisoners October 2024); Wikipedia NSCF (Newport Orleans County Vermont 433 capacity 1994 medium security; largest prison in Vermont); no conjugal visits Vermont (to verify); Vermont equitable distribution not community property; VTDOC HQ 426 Industrial Ave Williston VT 05495 802-241-2442; doc.vermont.gov. NOTE for Poorwa: verify no conjugal visits Vermont per doc.vermont.gov; verify ICS Corrections still phone provider for VTDOC; verify 888-506-8407 ICSolutions current; verify ICS tablets and Gold Passes still current; verify GTL VisitMe still for visiting scheduling; verify out-of-state housing FAQ still at doc.vermont.gov/information-inmate-families-and-friends; verify CRCF 802-863-7356 South Burlington current; verify NSCF 802-334-3364 Newport current; verify NWSCF 802-524-6771 Swanton current; verify MVRCF 802-786-5830 Rutland current; verify NERCF 802-748-8151 St Johnsbury current; verify SSCF 802-885-9800 Springfield current; verify VTDOC HQ 802-241-2442 current; verify accesscorrections.com vermontpackage.com offenderconnect.com current; verify 1-800-483-8314 1-800-546-6283 1-866-345-1884 current; verify approximately 1400 incarcerated current; verify VTDOC still under Agency of Human Services; verify Vermont equitable distribution; len/character check before publish.]