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IDOC requests staff and operations funding for reentry centers, opioid treatment pilots
Summary
The Department of Correction seeks funding to annualize Pocatello Community Reentry Center staff, expand community reentry operations, add parole officers, and pilot medication for opioid use disorder for incarcerated people transitioning to community care.
The Idaho Department of Correction asked the Joint Finance Preparations Committee for funding to expand community reentry operations and probation/parole staffing, and to pilot medication-assisted treatment for people leaving custody.
Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst, told the committee the community corrections division has 511.35 FTP and that recent appropriations included a $1.3 million increase to expand community reentry programs and 16 FTP for the Pocatello Community Reentry Center (CRC). Seventeen positions tied to administration were appropriated in Management Services for six months, and the community corrections division requested $680,700 in FY2026 to annualize personnel costs for those 17 positions; if approved, Peterson said the total ongoing budget for the Pocatello CRC would be about $2.4 million.
Other items: The division sought $721,200 for expanded drug testing (including fentanyl testing), $750,000 for transitional housing and reentry assistance, and $522,900 to raise starting pay for parole officers by $0.85 per hour. The agency also requested six FTP and $616,500 ongoing for parole officers in Districts 3 and 4.
Behavioral health: IDOC requested two FTP and related funding to create a pilot program to provide medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) to people while incarcerated and to coordinate community treatment at release; those two FTP would be case managers who coordinate treatment in the community.
Lawmakers’ questions: Senator Wintrow asked whether the agency’s gap analysis on substance-use and mental-health services could be addressed in this budget conversation; Director Josh Tewalt said the gap analysis was appropriate for this budget and reported continued progress following Medicaid expansion. He said more than 2,000 people had received mental-health services and more than 3,000 received substance-use disorder services in recent reporting periods and that the gap between need and available services has narrowed.
Ending: The governor recommended the replacement items and most enhancements, and the committee requested additional detail on implementation and outcomes for the pilots and transitional housing before finalizing ongoing appropriations.
