A dozen state prison inmates filed into a revocation and sanction center at Warm Springs Monday, Dec. 12, where they’ll get one last chance to turn their lives around.
Another dozen are expected to be bused from Deer Lodge on Tuesday, with more to follow.
The Sanction, Treatment, Assessment, Revocation and Transition Center opened this week in an unused building on the Montana State Hospital campus at Warm Springs.
The 80-bed facility, operated through a contract with Butte-based Community Counseling and Correctional Service, has a two-fold purpose for parole violators, according to Bob Anez, spokesman for the Department of Corrections.
Some will spend up to 120 days at the center to see if they are suitable candidates for community placement, Anez said. Others will spend 30 or 60 days there, as a punishment for their violations.
All will go through a screening process before entering the newly organized, minimum-security facility, and felony violators will not be accepted.
The goal is to help probation violators stay out of prison and keep them in communities as workers and taxpayers, Anez added.
It’s also geared to save money and reduce prison overcrowding.
Warden Mike Mahoney says 48 percent of the population at Montana State Prison is made up of inmates whose sentences have been revoked.
Many of those will now qualify for short-term housing at the revocation center.
Although the costs per day are about the same — $66 at the new facility and $68 at the state prison — the big savings will come about in the long run, according to Department of Corrections Director Bill Slaughter.
That’s because a typical stay at the revocation center will last from 30 to 60 days, costing around $2,000. Revocations that land offenders back in the prison are usually 24 months, or $50,000.
“It’s a huge savings for the people of Montana,” Slaughter said of the alternative that was endorsed by the 2005 Legislature .
He’s hoping that half of the inmates will be deemed ready for a community placement after their “wake up call” in the austere surroundings at the center.
There, compact, no-frills cells contain only a metal bunk and mattress, plus a steel toilet that doubles as a sink with a small basin over the tank.
The “day room” amounts to the hallway that separates the cells, with no furniture and no comforts, save a television set mounted at the farend.
The inmates won’t be leaving their minimum security surroundings for work details or other day trips, Slaughter said.
“They’re locked in 24-7,” he said. Center security staff will be backed up by a SWAT Team from the prison, if necessary.
During their stay, inmates must participate in relapse programs, drug and alcohol counseling and anger management classes, plus other intense efforts aimed at changing criminal thinking, attitudes and motivations, Slaughter said.
He estimates about half of the inmates placed there will be “salvaged,” and returned to society rather than the prison system.
The building, previously used to house prisoners from Butte-Silver Bow while a new jail was built there, was renovated by CCCS.
Around 34 new jobs were created in the effort that’s set up on a three-year test basis.
“This is a pilot project," Slaughter said. “This has never been done in Montana, so we have a lot to learn.”
Corrections Director Bill Slaughter told the Legislative Finance Committee the agency is running out of money mostly because of a growth in the number of convicts sentenced in Montana. Other factors, like overtime wages spending due to a shortage of correctional officers, also play a role.
The budget hole was anticipated to be as high as $13.6 million, documents show, but the agency got some money from the governor’s office and moved money into other accounts to cover part of the shortfall.
Slaughter said it’s impossible to tell at this point exactly how much the agency will need to get through the next fiscal year, which begins next July. He predicted the bill will be “more palatable’’ than the $11.7 million needed for this year.
Slaughter also said the shortfall has its roots in 2002 and 2003, when the department slashed rehabilitation programs for convicts to help the state squeak through a budget crisis.
“We paid for that mistake,’’ Slaughter told the committee. “Those offenders who didn’t get programming when they were with us before are back.’’
He said in an interview after the meeting that he told lawmakers now about the predicted shortfall because he wanted them to know as soon as possible about the agency’s budget.
The number of Montanans in the correctional system is growing at more than 6 percent a year, Slaughter said. For months, the agency has warned it may have to send inmates out of state if the numbers continue growing.
Slaughter told lawmakers Tuesday he would prefer to avoid that option, in part, he said, because once the inmates leave the state, Montana may not be able to move them back due to a chronic lack of prison space.
The department is in the process of expanding the penal system, largely with private, non-profit contractors who will run new, specialty prisons like 256 new prison beds for the mentally ill and disabled and 120 new beds for a lockdown methamphetamine treatment center.
Additionally, the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge has an 85-bed wing mothballed because it can’t hire the staff to open the space.
Not all of the expansion projects are included in the agency’s anticipated budget holes, Slaughter told lawmakers.State corrections officials may move up to 200 Montana prisoners to private lockdowns in Minnesota or Colorado, if current overcrowding in Montana’s penal system continues, state Corrections Director Bill Slaughter said Wednesday.
Slaughter told the Corrections Advisory Council he’d rather not move any Montanans out of state, and has no immediate plans to do so.
But the state had 176 prisoners held in county jails Wednesday, waiting for space at the state level. If that figure climbs to 250 to 300, the state will start moving state prisoners to other places, Slaughter said.
“We’ve packed county jails to the point where they’ve got to think about dangerous situations of their own right now,’’ he told the 24-member, governor-appointed board. “There are right now over 4,000 felony warrants sitting in sheriff’s offices.’’
County sheriffs can’t serve the warrants, he said, because they’ve got no room in their jails in which to house the accused.
Slaughter said the overcrowding situation is temporary.
The state expects to have room for several hundred more prisoners in Montana opening up relatively soon. Corrections officials will soon ask for bids on a private, non-profit business to run a “special needs’’ prison that would have room for 256 inmates.
That prison would be for inmates who are elderly, have mental illness or some other condition that makes them more difficult to care for in regular lockdown.
Last month, the state asked for bids on a new, separate methamphetamine-treatment prison with room for 120 prisoners.
In addition, officials are trying to recruit enough new correctional officers at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge to allow it to open up a wing with room for 84 prisoners. The wing is closed now for lack of staff.
Those new prison cells would eliminate the need to move Montana’s inmates elsewhere, Slaughter said.
In the meantime, Slaughter told the panel, Montana’s corrections system is walking a tight rope: Just one inmate fight at a county jail or Deer Lodge could tip the system over the breaking point, forcing the state to move prisoners out of state.
If the state puts just 74 more people in county jails, they’ll be pushing the county penal system into dangerous territory and would likely have to start moving state inmates elsewhere, he said.
Slaughter said in an interview afterward that it’s possible the state won’t have to move inmates out of state. But they must have plans in place, he said, in case something happens that requires a sudden out-of-state prisoner transfer.
“The best thing that would happen is we could totally avoid it,’’ he said, “but we have to be realistic.’’
Slaughter told the panel he is beginning to negotiate back-up plans to move inmates to private prisons in Minnesota or Colorado.
Both prisons are owned by Corrections Corporation of America, the same company that owns Montana’s only private prison, the Crossroads Correction Center in Shelby.
He estimated the cost of holding prisoners out-of-state would be similar to what the state is paying to house them at Crossroads, a little more than $50 a day.
Slaughter also said even the new treatment and special-needs prison will not solve Montana’s long-term problem with prisons. The state needs to begin talking about its philosophy on handling crime and punishment for the future, he said.
Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, chairman of the council, said afterward he’s hopeful the state can avoid shipping Montana prisoners away.
“When they’re in Montana, they have a support network of family and friends that an assist them in their recovery and in their development of new lifestyles,’’ he said. “We send them out of state and they lose that.’’
He also said he worried that Montana inmates might be exposed to a more nefarious sort of prison life in out-of-state lockdowns.
“We should make every attempt we can to keep Montanans here,’’ he said.
Butte firm optimistic about meth treatment center
Lewistown News-Argus, 11/12/05
A bidders’ conference in Helena, held Oct. 19, was encouraging to firms that are interested in building a meth treatment center in Lewistown.
Jason Kovnesky,director of development and administration for Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc., the Butte firm wanting to build a meth treatment center in Lewistown, told the Fergus County Port Authority Board Wednesday he is encouraged because his firm seems far ahead of its competitors.
Nonprofit firms from Helena and Billings, as well as CCCS, attended the conference, as did two out-of-state for-profit firms. The presence of those two out-of-state firms surprised CCCS representatives because legislation authorizing construction of a meth treatment center specifically limits bidders to in-state nonprofit firms, Kovnesky said.
Kovnesky said questions from theother firms indicated CCCS’ plans in Lewistown are far ahead. The other firms are just starting the process while CCCS and Lewistown groups have been at workon the project for about two years, he said.
About 30 questions were submitted by bidders and the Department of Corrections(DOC) responded on Nov. 1, Kovnesky said. He said the most important questions dealt with flushing out the department’s specifications including medical care and programming requirements.
On Jan. 10, the DOC is to have all the proposals reviewed and scored. The state agency has indicated it will award the contract for construction by March 1, 2006. But DOC officials told CCCS representatives they may be able to award the contract sooner.
“We’re very confident that Lewistown is in the running because of all the work we have doneover the years,” said Kovnesky. Once the contract is awarded, he said, it will take 12 to 14 months to build the structure on Lewistown Municipal Airport land bordering on Airport Road.
He said while the deliberations are going on in Helena, the public hearing process will continue in Lewistown. So far, there is no indication that the Billings or Helena firms plan public hearings any time soon, Kovnesky said.
The public hearings will be held in Lewistown during the next two weeks. The first will be part of the Fergus County Commission meeting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16, in the basement of the Fergus County Sheriff’s Complex. The second will be part of the Lewistown City Commission’s Committee of the Whole meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Central Montana Community Center.
Both meetings are being held in an effort to explain the project to the community and to solicit public comment. Kovnesky said CCCS representatives plan to make presentations of about 10 minutes at each meeting. Rep. Jim Peterson (R-Buffalo) and Rep. Ed Butcher (R-Winifred) are expected to attend both meetings, Port Authority officials said.
In the past, CCCS officials mentioned a $6.2 million figure for construction costs, but the final figure may be different. Costs will depend on the size of the structure. Kovnesky said DOC still is talking about an 80- or 120-bed facility for men or for men and women. It may be that another 40-bed facility for women would be built elsewhere.
In addition to these meetings, CCCS’ construction and design team has been meeting with representatives of Century Co. and Birdwell Construction, two Lewistown firms expected to be involved in construction of the meth treatment center. Kovnesky said he expects to have cost estimates by Dec. 1.
“You will hear quite a lot about a 120-bed facility at these meetings because we do not want that to come as a surprise to the people of Lewistown. We want everyone to know it may be 120 beds here,” Kovnesky told the Port Authority Board.
At a meeting Nov. 3, the Lewistown Municipal Airport Board approved realignment of the structure so that the treatment center’s parking lots will be located between the building and the d’Autremont Sports Complex. An access road to the airport between the two facilities will be paved.
“At the bidders’ conference we outlined the delivery system we propose and there were no outstanding questions about it,” said Kovnesky.
WATCh
family member
is thankful for program
Glendive Ranger
Review,
10/20/05
To the Citizens of Glendive:
First, I would like to say thank you for allowing the WatchEast treatment center to be in your fine city. I feel very fortunate to have attended this center and owe a debt of gratitude to the facility and the people of Glendive. The people that work at the center who reside in Glendive deserve much praise for their contribution to my recovery.
I am a recovering alcoholic and I am grateful for the chance to turn my life around and be a productive citizen of the State of Montana. I have made some bad choices in my life and I am grateful for the opportunity to change, make better choices, and live in harmony with others.
I pray that the citizens of Glendive don’t too harshly judge the family members that attend the Watch program. We are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters. We are carpenters, nurses, welders, secretaries, iron workers, and farmers and ranchers. We are people from all walks of life who have made mistakes.
I truly would not have a problem with any of the members of this treatment facility that I have been in here with for the last six months, as being one of my neighbors. I hope and pray that all of you in Glendive and the State of Montana can feel the same way.
Once again, thank you very much!
Joel L. Draper, WatchEast
Warm Springs facility to hold some inmates
The Standard State Bureau -
9/23/05
HELENA — The state Department of
Corrections has reached a tentative
deal to house several dozen
probation violators at a mothballed
building on the State Hospital
campus in Warm Springs to ease
prison overcrowding, officials said
Thursday.
The agency agreed in principle this
week to an 80-cell ‘‘revocation
center'' at the hospital that would
be run by Community Counseling and
Corrections Services Inc., a
nonprofit Butte corrections
contracting company, Corrections
Director Bill Slaughter said.
Details have yet to be worked out,
but Slaughter said the center could
be up and running by December and
will employ 34 people. Renovation
costs have been estimated at about
$300,000.
The facility would house offenders
who violated probation and would
otherwise likely be sent back to the
Montana State Prison to serve the
remainder of their sentences. About
half of prison admissions are
triggered by such violations,
Slaughter said.
He and other corrections officials
hoped the new option will help them
avoid sending prison inmates out of
state to relieve overcrowding.
‘‘We'll use the center to determine
if their community placement can be
salvaged,'' Slaughter said. ‘‘It's
consistent with our plan and
strategy not to put people back into
the deep end of the pool.''
The facility will be run as a pilot
project for three years. If the idea
works, officials will consider
building a permanent facility,
Slaughter said.
The state has been looking for ways
to ease prison overcrowding for
months. The state's prisons and
county jails are full, and officials
have said little, if any, relief is
expected. A decision on shipping
inmates out of state is expected by
Oct. 15, although available prison
beds are in short supply nationwide
in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,
which displaced tens of thousands of
inmates along the Gulf Coast.
Montana last sent inmates to
out-of-state prisons in the
mid-1990s due to overcrowding. Since
then, the private Crossroads
Correctional Center in Shelby was
built, along with regional jails in
Great Falls, Missoula and Glendive.
The 80-bed revocation center will
look and feel like a prison, but
only house offenders for about 30
days. Inmates will be required to
undergo treatment and other
programs, with the hope the short
time behind bars will keep them out
of prison again.
‘‘We think it's an innovative
approach that we hope can serve as a
model for other states if
successful,'' said Mike Thatcher,
administrator of Community
Counseling and Corrections Services.
The building to be renovated for the
revocation center was built in 1972
to house court-ordered State
Hospital commitments, officials
said. It was closed for that purpose
in the 1980s, but later housed
inmates from the overcrowded Montana
State Prison. It was most recently
used as the Butte-Silver Bow jail
for about five years until the jail
relocated a year ago.
Prison
wing may reopen
Corrections officials weighing use of
facility at Warm Springs to ease
overcrowding dilemm
The Standard State Bureau - 9/13/05
State Corrections officials are considering
re-opening a mothballed temporary prison
near the state mental hospital in Warm
Springs to deal with prison overcrowding.
Prison officials announced in August the
state's prisons were filling up and backing
into county jails, thanks to a
methamphetamine-fueled spike in felons
sentenced to hard time.
At the time, officials said they had little
choice but to consider sending Montana
inmates out of state.
But that was before Hurricane Katrina, which
displaced tens of thousands of inmates in
the Gulf Coast, putting available prison
cells nationwide in short supply.
Now, said Bob Anez, spokesman for the
Department of Corrections, Montana is
thinking of keeping state inmates closer to
home while dealing with another problem at
Montana State Prison: the high number of
inmates sent back to Deer Lodge because they
fail to follow the rules of their probation.
Right now, the idea is still in its early
stages. Corrections officials are meeting
with Gov. Brian Schweitzer's staff today to
get his thoughts on the plan. A final
decision is expected by the end of the week.
Corrections officials are considering
opening an 80-cell, so-called "revocation
center" on the campus of the Montana State
Mental Hospital in Warm Springs. The center
would be run by Community Counseling and
Correctional Services Inc., a non-profit
Butte corrections contracting company.
The center would be for probationers who do
not follow the probation rules — violations
that could land them behind bars for the
remainder of their sentences.
"This would be a pilot project to see if
something like this may be a permanent part
of the corrections system as a cheaper and,
maybe more effective alternative, than just
sending them right back to prison," Anez
said.
If the idea works, the department would
consider building a permanent revocation
center and asking businesses around the
state to submit bids to run it.
The revocation center would look and feel
like prison, but inmates would only spend
between 30 and 60 days there, long enough to
let them know what life be like if they
continue to violate the terms of their
probation.
"It'll give them something to think about,"
Anez said. "If they foul up there, they go
to prison." The building was once used as
overflow for the Montana State Prison, said
Jerome McCarthy, captain in charge of the
Butte-Silver Bow City County Detention
Center. Butte-Silver Bow — and for a time,
Anaconda-Deer Lodge — used the building as a
county jail between 1999 and 2004, after
inmates set fire to the original
Butte-Silver Bow jail. The Warm Springs
building now sits empty, but McCarthy said
but it worked great as a county jail and has
all the trappings of a prison — more than
enough to give errant probationers a taste
of life behind bars.
"It has the old bars," he said. "It's
definitely what you'd envision an older jail
to be." Anez said it would probably cost
about $300,000 to get the building ready to
use again. He anticipated the facility could
be open in up to 60 days.
"This would be an emergency pilot project,"
Anez said.
Argument looms over batterers treatment cost
Butte Weekly, 6/22/05
The belief that courts and other authoritative bodies should hold batterers solely responsible for their actions in terms of paying for even court-ordered treatment is a national -- as well as a local -- movement.
The concept has been endorsed by Tonya Geraghty, director of Safe Space in Butte, and the matter will come before the Butte-Silver Bow council of commissioners during budget discussions for the coming fiscal year.
But, so far, a majority of commissioners have voted that, because of the necessity for batterers to be treated, the local government should contract with a private firm to provide treatment.
Community, Counseling and Correctional Services (CCCS) has provided the services to Butte-Silver Bow for several costs of training stad costs, CCCS no longer can afford to absorb the costs on its own, according to Mike Thatcher, CEO of CCCS.
The fact remains, however, there is a need for such counseling services in Butte.
Barb Mueske, formerly with the Family Planning Clinic at the Butte Silver Bow Health Department, pointed out that while children are one part of the victim of domestic violence equation, "The victims at the clinic are children themselves, our biggest age group is 16-25."
Services, therefore, are geared to teens who may not want their parents to know they are using the clinic, Mueske said.
In addition, County Attorney Bob McCarthy says that more than 90 percent of batterers return to the home and that batterers who are ordered to counseling by the courts are, generally, unwilling to go to treatment because they do not want to change their behavior.
Women, particularly married women, are, in general, the targets of the abusing spouse. The opposite also is true with, at times, the female in the relationship being the batterer.
But, as the victim is abused, children in the relationship also suffer.
While the list of manipulations and threats employed by the batterer is extensive, there are common types of the manifestations of abuse.
For example: Using coercion and threats to hurt the victim, to leave the victim, to commit suicide and forcing the victim to commit illegal acts.
Treating the victim as a servant, making all the big decisions, being the one to define the roles of the man and the woman.
Preventing the victim from getting or keeping a job and other forms of isolating the victim.
Intimidation through looks, actions, gesture, breaking things, abusing pets.
Calling names, destroying self-esteem, intimidating the victim is mentally ill, humiliation.
Making light of the abuse, not taking actions to allay victim fears, denying abuse, shifting responsibility for behavior.
One of the greatest risks of having a batterer in residence is the potential abuse of the children of the relationship.
Geraghty provided a study conducted by one Lundy Bancroft who found the following -- mostly from literature about the subject.
That study found that the physical abuse of children indicated that about 50 percent of batterers repeatedly assault children in the home -- a rate that is 700 percent higher than non-batterers.
The study also found that batterers are four or more times more likely than other men to sexually abuse their children or step-children and exposure to domestic violence is one of the top risk factors for incest victimization.
Also, even if the batterer and the victim separate (divorce or some other reason) the risk of child abuse by the batterer not only continues, but may intensify because of the rage of the batterer.
Because of the long-term effects of a batterer's actions on children, recovery by the children depends on carefully planned visitation situations and the nature of the child's relationship with the non-battering parent and siblings.
One of the conclusions reached was, "Children who are exposed to domestic violence have multiple potential sources of emotional and physical injury from the batterer's behavior, well beyond the witnessing of assaults alone, and their potential for recovery from past domestic violence can be compromised by ongoing unsupervised contact with the batterer. Additionally, children are at risk to develop destructive attitudes and values that can contribute to behavioral and developmental problems."
Domestic
abuse a personal, not social manifestation
Butte Weekly, 6/8/05
One can't blame poverty for domestic partner abuse. That is the fault of the individual who can't control his or her temper for various reasons and winds up taking out frustration at those closest -- the wife or domestic partner and the children.
Barb Mueske, formerly with the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department and currently with the AWARE Program, said that during 2003-2004 Fiscal Years there were 950 poverty patients -- that is 950 individuals whose incomes fall below federal poverty guidelines -- and for 2004 through March, 2005, the poverty patient numbers had risen to 1,066.
One of the central issues , at this time, is how to obtain treatment for batterers. Theoretically, according to Montana State Law, it appears the batterer is responsible for his/her own treatment.
The law, in part, provides, "The offender shall complete a minimum of 40 hours of counseling. The counseling may include attendance at psychoeducational groups, .. in addition to the assessment (of the need for counseling) and counseling that holds the offender accountable for the offender's violent or controlling behavior must be:
"With a person licensed under Title 37, chapter 17, 22, or 23," or "With a professional person as defined in 53-21-102" or "In a specialized domestic violence intervention program."
That's where part of the controversy takes hold.
Mueske and Butte-Silver Bow County Attorney argue that because in excess of 90 percent of batterers wind up back in the home, the government is obligated to steip in, when appropriate, and provide the mandated counseling if the batterer can't afford it.
On the other hand, Tonya Geraghty, direct of Safe Sapce, Butte-Silver Bow Commissioner Laura Lee Dunlap and Commissioner Charlie O'Leary argure that the batterers must pay for the counseling and treatment themselves.
The counter-arargument from McCarthy is that the batterers really don't care if they receive treatment, thus, they aren't going to seek it.
But, they will return to the home and re-commit the inappropriate behavior.
Geaghty argues that in other communities, the batterers are required to pay. She said of the other locations, ten were in Montana, one was on an Indian Reservation, and none had any help from the community."
Geraght sees the question as one of accountability and argues that since the victim receive no hlp, neither should the batters.
Butte has been fortunate over the past few years because Community Counseling and Correctional Services (CCCS), under direction of Mike Thatcher has provided counseling to batterers for free.
But, Thatcher says, the counseling is expensive and his staff has been professionally trained, so his organization is no longer able to provide free service.
Last year Thatcher told the Butte-Silver Bow council of commissioners that CCCS would not be able to afford to continue to provide free batterers' counseling because of the costs associated with training staff and providing materials to batterers.
Figures at CCCS show that it cost CCCS $3,654 to train three staff members and that CCCS spent another $4,335 to provide material to batterers during the period 2000-2005.
Furthermore, the figures show that at per-hour costs of $15-$20 for counseling, CCCS had spend $36,920 during 2000-2005 and another $19,200 for rent during the same period.
And, CCCS does collect from batterers, although not at the same rate funds are expended to meet Butte-Silver Bow's needs.
In 2000 the numbers saw no collections, in 2001 no collections, $7,926 in 2002, $6,020 in 2003, $4,855 in 2004 and $2,450 for Fiscal 2005 through April.
The collections amount to 33.15 percent of actual costs of providing service.
The number of batterers treated in 2000 is not available, in 2001 there were 41 batterers, in 2002 63 batterers, in 2003 58 batterers, in 2004 75 batterers and in 2005 (through April) 48 batterers.
While there is no connection between battering and poverty that can be proven, statistics provided by Mueske show that she reviewed 46 patient charts for this series and found that 16 percent had "pretty high" reports of battering.
And, she said, the family planning clinic in Butte has the "highest poverty level of all family planning clinics in the state with 76 percent (of those being treated for battering-related causes).
And, the rate continues to rise, for example, with 950 cases in 2003 compared with 1,066 in 2004.
Treating
batterers hot topic
Butte Weekly, 6/1/05
It came as a shocking surprise a few weeks back as Butte-Silver Bow Commissioner Laura Lee Dunlap, the only woman on the council, argued against the local government signing a short-term contract with Community Counseling and Correctional Services (CCCS) to provide counseling for individuals convicted of spousal or partner abuse.
The contract, to cover May and June was for about $3,000.
Commonly called batterers, the men (although some women are classified as batterers) are generally fined, jailed, at least overnight, ordered to pay fines and costs and ordered to counseling.
Dunlap, and even, perhaps more surprising, Tonya Geraghty, who direct the battered women's shelter, Safe Space, say the batterers should pay full freight for the counseling service. To do otherwise, they argue, in part, is to, in a sense, reward the batter with a free service while no comparable service is available to victims of domestic abuse.
Actually, at the commissioners' meeting at which the matter was discussed, Commissioner Charlie O'Leary raised the objections to the contract and was joined by Dunlap.
However, after the discussion, Commissioner Mike Kerns pointed out that O'Leary opposes everything that CCCS proposes because of a vendetta by O'Leary against Mike Thatcher Chief Executive of CCCS because Thatcher voted to censure O'Leary for an apparent conflict of interest in the early 1990s.
The major flaw in the argument that the batterers pay is two fold, according to County Attorney Bob McCarthy. First of all McCarthy said, batterers in upper socioeconomic circumstances are generally given suspended sentences upon completion of counseling and are able to pay for their counseling. Second, he said, individuals in less fortunate economic circumstances can't afford to pay for counseling and, in general, would not comply with the counseling requirements unless court ordered to do so.
But, all batterers have one thing in common, McCarty said, "About 96 percent of them return to the home and, thus, have the potential to continue their behavior. Also, there is more of a chance they will repeat if they don't have counseling."
The counseling is expensive and, at least now, Butte-Silver Bow has no one on staff either at the health department or the office of victims' advocacy. So, Butte-Silver Bow was asked to pay for the service for two months from CCCS.
Actually, CCCS has been providing such counseling to Butte-Silver Bow's court-ordered cases for some time, for free.
But, CCCS Executive Director Mike Thatcher has said the free service from his organization can't continue indefinitely because of the costs CCCS has incurred in training counselors, the costs of paying counselors and the administrative costs of the program.
State law provides in part: "The offender (batterer) shall complete a minimum of 40 hours of counseling. That counseling includes a preliminary assessment for counseling. The counseling may include attendance at psychoeducational groups...in addition to the assessment. The preliminary assessment and counseling that holds the offender accountable for the offender's violent or controlling behavior must be: with a person licensed under state law, with a professional person as defined by law or in a specialized domestic violence intervention program."
State
seeks bids on new prison
Tribune Capitol Bureau, 5/18/05
State prison officials next month will seek private bids to build a new center for "special-needs" inmates, such as methamphetamine addicts — and Lewistown expects to submit a proposal.
Lewistown officials have been talking for nearly two years about building a meth treatment center, in collaboration with Community Counseling and Correctional Services, a Butte-based nonprofit organization.
Fergus County Commissioner John Jensen said Tuesday those plans are going forward, with talk of a center as large as 120 beds.
But Jensen said it's too early to say what the final proposal will look like or to assume that Lewistown has an inside track.
"When you go out for (bids), you never know what's going to happen," he said. "Our shot is just as good as anybody else's. ... A lot will be determined by what type of specs they put in the (bid)."
Joe Williams, head of the Centralized Services Division for the state Corrections Department, said the department will ask for proposals to house up to 256 inmates.
The focus will be on providing specialized services for meth addicts and/or convicts who are aging, disabled or mentally ill, he said.
"You can bid for a 40- to 60-bed treatment program or you can bid a 150- to 250-bed prison," Williams said. "You can bid two options; you can bid one option.
"We'll look through them and say, 'What gives us the most effective bang for our buck?'"
The actual bid request will be out sometime in June, and a decision may be made by October, Williams said. The state needs more beds because of a prison population growing at 5 percent to 6 percent a year, he added.
Bid requests are being sent to the state's three regional prisons (including Great Falls), local governments, private groups and companies that run correctional programs in Montana and out-of-state companies.
Other communities expressing interest in bids include Great Falls, Helena and Shelby.
Cascade County Sheriff David Castle said his office has talked about expanding the regional prison and jail. But he said he wants to see the bid request first, before commenting on a possible bid.
The same goes for Shelby, where the bidder would be Correctional Corp. of America, which runs a 500-bed private prison south of town.
"When the state puts out the (bid request), CCA will take it back (to headquarters in Tennessee) and decide whether it's something they feel good about bidding," said Toole County Commissioner Allan Underdal.
Ron Alles, administrative officer for Lewis and Clark County, said officials in Helena have talked about building a new jail/regional prison. They also want to look at the bid request before deciding what to do, he said Tuesday.
Mike Thatcher of CCCS, the Butte organization working with Lewistown, said Tuesday the community and his firm are committed to putting forth a bid for some type of meth-treatment center.
The 2005 Legislature also cleared the way for a possible center, passing a bill that says second-time meth offenders can be sentenced to a residential treatment center. Rep. Jim Peterson, R-Buffalo, whose district includes half of Lewistown, sponsored the bill.
The proposal in Lewistown calls for building a center on land at the Lewistown Municipal Airport west of town. It could cost as much as $7 million.
Jensen said officials are looking at federal or state money, grants and private loans as possible funding sources.
Thatcher, who is in Nevada and California this week to examine meth-treatment programs there, said the bid might pair with prerelease centers in Great Falls and Helena, which could provide "after-care" treatment for meth addicts coming out of an intensive months-long stay at Lewistown.
"I could see multiple parties having a piece of (the state contract)," he said. "I think you're going to see it splintered or broken up."
Williams of the state Corrections Department said there's plenty of room for innovation, and the agency wants to encourage "a lot of creative responses."
Felony DUI
treatment center open house May 13
Montana Department of Corrections, 5/9/05
An open house and public tours of new Department of Corrections WATCh East felony DUI treatment facility in Glendive are scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. May 13. Governor Brian Schweitzer will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3 p.m.
WATCh East opened February 1 at its capacity of 40 offenders on the campus of the former Eastmont Human Services Center. The six-month program for those convicted of fourth and subsequent DUIs is an extension of the WATCh Program in Warm Springs. WATCh East is the only facility for female felony DUI offenders in Montana, and it also accepts males from eastern Montana.
The original WATCh Program has been open for more than three years and has an excellent record for the treatment of DUI offenders. More than 93 percent of WATCh graduates have not been arrested for new DUIs. “These numbers reflect significant progress in increasing public safety and reducing recidivism among this population,” said WATCh East Program Coordinator Deb Dion. “We anticipate demonstrating similar outcomes, as we have implemented the same therapeutic interventions within this program.”
Dion will welcome visitors to the May 13 open house. Other speakers are Connie Kenney, vice chair of Community, Counseling and Correctional Services (CCCS), the Butte contractor that operates the facility; Bill Slaughter, Department of Corrections director; and Genny Bravo, a WATCh East participant who will graduate May 17. Gerald Redwolf, a WATCh East participant who will graduate May 25, will sing an American Indian blessing.
The WATCh East address is 700 East Little Street. From I-90, take the Glendive Exit 215 and head toward the City Center. Go about 0.4 miles and turn right onto N. Merrill Avenue. Drive about 0.1 miles and turn left onto Hillcrest Entrance Road, then left onto N. Anderson Avenue and then right onto E. Little Street, which ends at WATCh East.
Visitors will be asked to sign a confidentiality statement and agree not to enter the facility with tobacco products, alcohol, drugs or firearms. For more information, call Deb Dion at (406) 377-6001.
Counseling
service extended through June
Butte Weekly, 4/27/05
Despite surprising arguments against providing counseling for domestic abusers by the lone woman on the Butte-Silver Bow council of commissioners, the body voted last Wednesday to extend an agreement with Community, Corrections and Counseling Services (CCCS) through the fiscal year that ends June 30 at a cost of $1,167 per month for April, May and June.
The contract will be evaluated as part of the budget process for the 2005-2006 fiscal period.
CCCS is a non-profit organization of which former commissioner Mike Thatcher is chief executive officer.
The organization, at its own expense, has provided counseling to batterers ordered to treatment by the court, for free for several years and at the same time provided training for counselors at its own expense. There were no objections noted to that arrangement by any commissioner.
But, last Wednesday (4/20/05), Commissioner Charlie O'Leary raised objections and said that batterers should have to pay for their own court-ordered treatment, that the law does not provide that the local government provide treatment and that batterers who don't pay should be jailed in lieu of payment.
Commissioner Laura Lee Dunlap, who once worked in the county attorney's office as a lawyer, agreed with O'Leary and said the local government is not required to pay for the counseling.
County Attorney Bob McCarthy countered that the treatment is "not for the batterers," but for the women and children involved. "At least 90 percent of the batterers are returned to the home. Without any treatment, they are guaranteed to repeat the behavior," McCarthy said.
He also pointed out that, as O'Leary wanted, if batterers are allowed to choose counselors of their choice, the batterers don't have money, don't want to go to counseling, don't believe their behavior warrants treatment and either would not seek treatment or would not pay for it if they did seek it.
McCarthy also pointed out that the U.S. has not had debtors' prisons for centuries to counter O'Leary's arguments that batterers who do not pay should go to jail.
As the discussion wore on, Commissioner Mike Kerns became increasingly concerned. Finally, he brought out the proverbial sledge hammer, smashed the boulder sitting on the table that no one spoke about the sprayed debris all over O'Leary.
In the early 1990s O'Leary was censured for conflict of interest in some land dealings by the council and he has not been able to get over it.
Thatcher was on the council, as was Kerns, and both men voted for the censure.
"Ever since you were censured, Mr. O'Leary," Kerns said, "every time something comes up that involves CCCS, you, with your vendetta, attempt to disparage CCCS and block the issue. You have cost this government untold money by blocking the entry into a multi-year contract with CCCS to provide food and transportation after the jail burned, you projected that the new jail could get by with one cook when a CCCS bid for food was discussed and now we have three cooks and a supervisor."
McCarthy told the commissioners they could reject the CCCS contract if they wished, but he cautioned them that advocacy groups such as the battered women's shelter and other groups that fear for the lives of women and children certainly will make their wishes known at future council meetings.
When the vote was taken Commissioners Ted Bury, Rocko Mulcahy, Wally Fraz, Kerns, John Sorich, Joe Lee, Mike Sheehy and Jim Fay voted for extending the contract. Commissioners O'Leary and Dunlap voted against the extension.
This page was last updated on 06/23/11.
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