New book, state audit scrutinize contracted correctional programs in MT
Are 20-year contracts appropriate?
and last updated 2020-12-23 19:52:16-05
BOULDER â Editorâs note: This story is the second of a two-part series on a new book critiquing the Montana Department of Correctionsâ management of treatment programs for criminal offenders.
When the state Corrections Department shut down a successful treatment program at a state-run facility in Boulder two years ago, it moved program residents to other treatment sites â run by private contractors.
In fact, the department told MTN News that one reason for shutting down the Riverside Recovery and Re-Entry Program in 2018 was a shortage of female inmates to fill all the treatment beds available â and the department was paying contractors for empty beds, per their contract.