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Detention center staff outline RISE funding timeline, partnerships and facility projects
Summary
The detention center reported an improving population trend, a RISE grant renewal process with an April 25 RFI deadline, partnerships with juvenile corrections and education programs, plans to implement a SAMHSA‑backed curriculum, greenhouse damage and a shower renovation project that will require temporary detainee moves.
Mister Anasola, director of the Grant County Detention Center, updated commissioners on staffing, programs and near‑term facility projects during the March 11 work session.
Anasola reported one officer vacancy and four officers currently in training; interviews were held March 4 to fill remaining openings. He said the facility’s population is trending downward — a February 28 head count of 83 and a February average daily population of 92 — after months in the 90s.
Why it matters: The detention center’s program funding and facility projects affect detainee services, staffing levels and operational costs. Commissioners asked for data on per‑inmate costs and state reimbursement, which staff said they would provide.
Program funding and partnerships were a central focus. Anasola said the RISE program’s grant funding is scheduled to end July 30, and staff plan to resubmit a request for funding; an RFI for the new cycle is due April 25. He said the RFI is “a much simplified version of last time” and that this will be the fourth time the county has applied for RISE funding.
On programming, Anasola described ongoing and planned partnerships: continued work with Juvenile Community Corrections (JCC) and a previous collaboration with a local learning lab for expelled or suspended students. The detention center plans a presentation to Western New Mexico University criminal justice students and will use program outreach for recruitment.
Anasola said the facility will implement the SUCCEED learning collaborative, an evidence‑based curriculum for substance use and chronic condition engagement drawn from SAMHSA and the State Opioid Response technical assistance program. Training for RISE and selected detention staff is planned for April, with program implementation expected in early May.
Facility projects include a completed greenhouse that sustained wind damage and an approved shower renovation estimated to begin in about 45 days. The shower project will require moving detainees during construction; the vendor offers a 10–15 year warranty for the work. Anasola said the commission’s scheduled inspection of the detention center will be Thursday, March 27, after the regular meeting, and that an updated five‑year plan and accreditation materials will be circulated to commissioners in advance of that inspection.
Commissioners asked Anasola to update the commission later with the current per‑inmate cost and the most recent state reimbursement figures. No formal action was taken at the work session on these items; the RISE funding resubmission and other grants are being prepared for regular meeting or grant submission workflows.
