28 V.S.A. § 101

The Department is charged with the following powers:

(1) to establish, maintain, and administer such State correctional facilities and programs as may be required for the custody, control, correctional treatment, and rehabilitation of committed persons, and for the safekeeping of such other persons as may be committed to the Department in accordance with law;

(2) to operate diagnostic and treatment programs and such other programs deemed desirable to treat persons committed to the Department and to further other purposes and objectives of this title;

(3) to administer the supervision of persons placed on probation and released on parole and to administer probation and parole services;

(4) to employ such officers, employees and agents as deemed necessary to discharge the functions of the Department;

(5) to establish standards for the management, operation, personnel, and program of all correctional facilities in the State;

(6) to act in an advisory capacity in assisting law enforcement agencies, and communities in the prevention of crime and delinquency;

(7) to enforce and administer such other laws as may be vested in the Department;

(8) to enter into agreements for assistance in support of the operation of jails or lockups in accordance with criteria established by the Department, and to use the jails or lockups as provided in this title;

(9) notwithstanding any other provision of law, the State and the Department shall not be responsible for the expense of detaining a person in custody except as provided in this title;

(10) to charter, establish, and fund through grants such municipal entities or nonprofit organizations as may be required for providing crime prevention and restorative justice programs for offenders, victims of crime, and the public.