State OKs bid for pre-release facility
The Montana Department of Corrections on Thursday awarded the contract to build and operate a Kalispell pre-release center to Butte-based Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc.
The nonprofit operates 12 detention or treatment facilities in three states, including pre-release centers for men and women in Butte, a juvenile detention center in Washington state, and the WATCh program for felony DUI offenders in Warm Springs.
"We're cautiously optimistic it will be embraced and we're anxious to get started," said Mike Thatcher, CEO of the nonprofit.
The proposed 40-bed facility is expected to cost about $1.2 million to operate in each of its first two years, and the contract calls for the nonprofit to charge the state a daily rate of $84.03 per offender during that period.
The per diem rate during the remainder of the contract's 20-year duration is subject to bi-annual legislative funding, but the Legislature has appropriated $1.9 million to fund the pre-release center for its first year.
"The Department of Corrections' top priority is public safety and we firmly believe that helping offenders succeed in the communities where they eventually will live is the most effective way to reduce the likelihood of them committing new crimes," said Kerry Pribnow, the pre-release contract manager for the Department of Corrections.
Pre-release centers hold prison inmates nearing the end of their sentences. They are designed to help inmates hold jobs and gradually re-enter communities under strict supervision. Some offenders, however, are sentenced directly to pre-release facilities.
Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc.'s winning bid proposes to put the facility in the old Montana Department of Health and Human Services building, 2282 U.S. 93 South.
Thatcher said the nonprofit is ready to spend about $2.5 million to get the building operational. Renovations would include building office space, treatment rooms, and living areas. An outbuilding to house laundry and food service operations also would be built.
"Renovations have been planned for the facility," said Steve McArthur, the nonprofit's director of community correctional programs. "It's more of what's inside that needs our attention right now."
However, a local 12-member working committee, appointed jointly by the Kalispell City Council and Flathead County commissioners in January, must first determine whether there is public support for the proposed location before it is approved.
Only if public support exists will the project proceed, according to the Department of Corrections.
The working committee will hold public meetings and commission an independent survey to gauge public opinion.
McArthur said Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc. plans to hold an open house and canvass the neighborhood to explain what pre-release centers do.
"We want to show that we are a good neighbor, and that we have a solid track record of adult community corrections," said McArthur.
Corrections officials have emphasized that, because of Kalispell and Flathead County zoning ordinances, the facility would not be placed in a residential area. In addition, the state has strict guidelines about how close to schools and parks a pre-release center can be placed.
But state requirements also include access to city sewer and water and a limit on emergency response times. Pre-release center inmates generally aren't allowed to drive, requiring proximity to job centers and public transportation.
Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc. officials are expected to sit down with city and county planning officials to iron out any remaining problems with the proposed site, McArthur said.
Besides housing offenders, the pre-release center will offer a variety of other programs and services - including anger management, batterers counseling, substance-abuse counseling, life-skills courses such as GED preparation, and cognitive restructuring counseling.
"We feel we're very good at what we do, and we have a long term history with providing these services," McArthur said.
The pre-release center is expected to employ 22 people at a facility designed to hold a maximum of 100 people, Thatcher said.
Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc. beat out final bids from three other organizations:
• Community Solutions of Montana, which proposed a facility at 30 Lower Valley Road at a per diem rate of $69.84. The Connecticut-based nonprofit runs numerous treatment and community-corrections facilities on the East Coast.
• Missoula Correctional Services Inc., which proposed a facility at 2640 U.S. 93 South at a per diem rate of $104. The Missoula-based nonprofit runs the Missoula pre-release center.
• Volunteers of America, which proposed a facility at 425 Snowline Lane at a per diem rate of $81.90. The nonprofit organization operates pre-release centers, day-reporting programs, addiction-treatment centers, veterans services, and other social services throughout the country.
Flathead County has about 1,300 people in the state corrections system - the fourth highest of any county in Montana. Lake and Lincoln counties contribute another 650 offenders.
Because there is no pre-release center here, about 80 offenders from this region are in other centers across the state. Flathead County is the only large county in Montana without a pre-release facility.
During the past seven years, more than 900 offenders from Flathead County have spent time in pre-release centers at Missoula, Bozeman, Butte, Billings, Helena and Great Falls.
Corrections officials have said that a Flathead County pre-release center wouldn't import offenders from other communities; it would handle offenders from the Flathead who have been diverted to other centers. A local board would have the final decision in accepting or denying an offender's participation in the program, including sex offenders.
Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com