Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility

Vermont's only women's facility, in South Burlington — women statewide, pretrial and sentenced, with a child-centered visiting program and a city bus stop nearby.

Overview

The Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility holds Vermont’s women — pretrial and sentenced alike, since the state’s placement policy sends women here after arraignment, though a handful may be held briefly at other facilities before transfer. Around 170 women were here at the most recent posted count, in a building DOC itself describes as built over 50 years ago as a short-term men’s detention center; the state is actively planning a replacement women’s facility in Essex, designed around trauma-informed models, though construction is years away.

What sets the facility apart for families is the support around children: most women here are mothers, and the Kids-A-Part program (run by the nonprofit Lund, operating at CRCF since 2011) facilitates in-person and virtual visits in a child-centered space inside the facility, supports parenting from intake to release, and coordinates with schools, family court, and child-welfare workers. Mercy Connections’ mentoring program and Vermont Works for Women’s career resource center also operate inside.

What Makes Chittenden Regional Different

• One facility for all of Vermont’s women — a transfer into the system means South Burlington, whatever the home county, which puts real distance between many families and their person.
• Child visits have real support: the Kids-A-Part room and staff exist specifically so children’s visits don’t happen across a standard visiting-room table. Contact runs through the program (kidsApart@lundvt.org) and the facility caseworker.
• The visiting blocks run by housing unit across Saturday and Sunday — morning, afternoon, and evening slots of an hour and 45 minutes — so the unit determines the family’s weekend window.
• A city bus gets you there: Green Mountain Transit’s Route 6 (Shelburne Road) stops at Shelburne Road and Farrell Street, a block from the facility, with weekday and Saturday service from downtown Burlington — and Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express reaches Burlington with low in-state fares.
• The statewide no-contact rule applies — hands on the table, no physical contact with visitors over 11 — which makes the child-centered program matter all the more.

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — the 10-name list, dress code, ID, and screening — apply at CRCF. What follows is specific to this facility.

The schedule carries no posted date, so a confirming call to (802) 863-7356 before a first visit is worthwhile — and for visits with children, asking for the Kids-A-Part coordinator opens the program door. Video visits run through ICSolutions at a published 16 cents per minute; the full approval and entry rules are in Visiting in Vermont.

Getting There and Parking

The facility is at 7 Farrell Street, just off Shelburne Road (US-7) in South Burlington — about two and a half miles from downtown Burlington.

Distances are approximate, based on map routing. DOC publishes no visitor parking guidance, though surface lots sit on the facility grounds.

Nearby Services

The Shelburne Road corridor a block away has everything — gas stations, a Shaw’s and a Hannaford, coffee and fast food within a quarter mile, and chain hotels within two miles. The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington runs the region’s emergency department, open around the clock at 111 Colchester Avenue, (802) 847-2434.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone in a Vermont facility:

• Visiting in Vermont — the 10-name list, the no-contact rule, and family programs
• Mail & Packages — original-mail delivery and the photo rule
• Phone & Video Calls — among the lowest call rates in the country, and two free calls a week
• Sending Money — the free mail-in deposit option
• Medical & Mental Health — statutory medication rights and pregnancy protections
• Transfers — why women in the system come here