The Montana Department of Corrections contracts with Community Counseling and Correctional Services Inc. (CCCS Inc), also known as the Butte PreRelease Center, to provide correctional services in Montana. CCCS Inc also operates the Bismarck ND Transitional Center. CCCS Inc is a private not for profit correctional provider that pays exorbitant salaries to its’ executive officers at taxpayer expense.
CCCS Inc contracts with the Montana Department of Corrections for a per diem rate of $53.03 for each incarcerated male. There are 120 male beds at the Butte center. CCCS Inc contracts for a per diem rate of $62.27 for each incarcerated female. There are 55 female beds at the Butte center. Apparently being a female is a pre-existing condition and therefore costs more to treat.
CCCS Inc recently contracted with Bismarck ND Transitional Center to incarcerate and treat offenders at a per diem rate of $48.00 per day. This per diem rate is $5.03 per day less for each North Dakota incarcerated male than for each Montana incarcerated male. The cost of living in North Dakota is comparable to the cost of living in Montana.
At $5.03 per day for 120 beds, Montana is paying $603.60 more per day for the same service than North Dakota is paying. At $5.03 per day for 120 beds, Montana is paying $220,314.00 more per year for the same service to the same not for profit company than North Dakota is paying. North Dakota sure has better negotiating skills than Kevin Olson, Administrator for Montana Probation and Parole.
Montanans love their North Dakotan jokes. It seems the joke is on Montana. We are paying almost a quarter of a million dollars a year more to the same company for the same service. Eh, just raise Montana taxes, that will cover it.