Idaho corrections seeks ongoing funding for data tools, transparency software and training equipment

The Idaho Department of Correction requested ongoing funding to continue and expand data and transparency tools, training equipment and IT replacement in the Management Services Division, Director Josh Tewalt told the Joint Finance Preparations Committee on Feb. 4.

The agency asked the Legislature to appropriate ongoing general fund dollars to continue a partnership with Recidiviz, a nonprofit that the department uses to combine disparate corrections data and generate case-triage and officer-level outcome tools. Director Tewalt said the platform automates backend work for case managers, surfaces comparative outcome data across jurisdictions and leverages private philanthropic matching for every public dollar spent.

The request includes $668,100 for a package the agency calls “transparency software,” split into ongoing and one-time costs to cover GovQA (for public-records management), LexisNexis (for legal research access for people in custody), Power Apps licenses, and an Access-to-Courts (ATC) database. The department said GovQA handles more than 6,000 public-records requests per year; LexisNexis provides digital legal resources that formerly required periodic print-lawbook purchases; and ATC is a constitutionally required tool that helps people in custody navigate court filings and processes.

Other Management Services requests included $77,400 one-time for Meridian training mannequins and a light‑duty vehicle to support CPR, first‑aid and combat medical training; roughly $1.5 million for IT replacement items (laptops/desktops and other hardware) recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services; and a proposed $85,000 one‑time general fund pilot for a special assistant U.S. attorney in North Idaho focused on drug trafficking (the governor recommended the position as a three‑year pilot and kept smaller appropriations for other regions).

Committee members asked whether the agency has hard return‑on‑investment data for Recidiviz; budget analyst Noah Peterson said no hard data was on hand, and Director Tewalt offered to provide dashboards and outcome visualizations used by leadership and probation staff. Tewalt told the committee the department controls the source data, uses data‑sharing agreements, and that Recidiviz matches state spending with philanthropic funds. Lawmakers also asked whether the state had evaluated competing commercial products; Tewalt said Recidiviz’s approach—bringing together data from multiple legacy systems with minimal additional data entry by line staff—was unique among vendors the department had assessed.

The committee did not take any votes during the presentation; funding decisions will be considered during the committee’s budget process.

Less‑urgent replacement items, recommended by the governor, and the department’s written LBB material provide more line‑by‑line detail on the ongoing and one‑time costs requested.