The Innovation in American Government Program is an Awards Program of the Ford Foundation and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government. 1,146 have successfully completed, and 233 negatively terminated and returned to court. Success rate is nearly 85 percent. Significant achievements include the establishment of reparative boards in every county of the State of Vermont, and the use of the reparative probation order by every court in the State. The Reparative Probation Program has been accepted by the judges, state's attorneys, and defense bar.
Boards are operational in every county in the state, and all major towns and cities.
Some communities are starting their own boards. Restructured sentencing options provide courts with a mechanism for holding offenders accountable short of prison. The sentencing options provide judges with more choices, more discretion, and has led to a reduction in the number of sentenced admissions to jail or prison, by sixty percent. The program provides opportunities for the acknowledgement of the harm done to the victim and the community and the opportunity for the offender to make amends. Victims who are contacted and participate in the process are extremely satisfied.