Transitional planning staff outline inmate transport responsibilities, restorative justice costs

Adam Anderson, program manager for Transitional Planning Services at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told the Appropriations committee that the transitional planning line supports inmate movement between DOCR facilities and external contract facilities and provides support for the Parole and Pardon Boards.

Anderson said the department typically transports offenders between state facilities when necessary but that “it’s the responsibility of the counties to bring them to us” initially. He added that the department makes exceptions for parole violators, which the department retrieves directly.

The department described a net change of minus one FTE in transitional planning that corresponds to a net plus one FTE moved into adult services earlier in the hearing. The transitional planning budget described operating costs including transport, motor‑pool, meals and lodging, and a large share of fees and professional services used for resident and offender assessment and restorative justice facilitation.

Committee members asked about who provides transport. Anderson said the department primarily uses retired department staff working in temporary partial‑time roles to perform transports. The committee discussed a prior coordination issue in Grand Forks County that required local coordination to get sentenced individuals moved to state custody; staff said the problem was a local communication issue and has since been addressed.

The department said increases in temporary salaries for transitional planning are driven by higher transport needs tied to an increased census, and the restorative justice line saw a modest increase for contractor services. The committee did not record a formal action on the transitional planning request during the hearing.