Idaho expands community reentry, treatment and parole staffing in budget requests

The Idaho Department of Correction told the Joint Finance Preparations Committee on Feb. 4 it seeks additional ongoing funding to expand community reentry centers, increase parole staffing in certain districts and to pilot medications for opioid-use disorder for incarcerated people preparing to reenter the community.

Noah Peterson, the committee’s Legislative Services Office analyst, said the community corrections division holds roughly 511.35 full‑time positions and that year‑over‑year base growth averaged 9.7 percent over the past five years. Major recent additions include funding for community connection centers, operations for a Pocatello community reentry center and added parole officers in Districts 3 and 4.

Requested additions: The department described a $1.3 million appropriation in 2025 to expand the community reentry program and the fiscal-year-2026 request includes annualized personnel costs to fund 17 positions at the Pocatello reentry center (the annualized amount noted was approximately $680,700). The division also asked for $212,300 in general inflation and $1.57 million for replacement items such as vehicles, radios and kitchen equipment.

Substance-use and gap analysis: Director Josh Tewalt said the community‑based substance‑use disorder division now serves thousands of people a year, and that Medicaid expansion reduced the population of people lacking access to community treatment. He told the committee the department’s gap analysis shows continuing progress in meeting needs: “I think we had, over 2,000 people receiving mental health services, well over 3,000 receiving substance use disorder services,” he said, and that the gap had shrunk to “somewhere around 6 percent.”

Parole staffing and pay: Peterson noted the department added parole positions in recent years and raised starting pay for parole officers; one line item cited was a $522,900 appropriation to raise starting pay by $0.85 per hour for parole officers.

Lawmakers’ requests: Senator Sandra Wintrow asked whether the gap-analysis material best fit this discussion or another division; Tewalt said the budget is an appropriate place to discuss availability versus need and offered to provide more detailed documentation. Representative Miller asked at a higher level how the department measures success in reducing recidivism; Tewalt offered long‑term outcome context and stressed the need for balanced investments in both accountability and treatment.

Next steps: Committee members asked the agency for written follow-up materials, including dashboards and documentation of program outcomes and the planned pilots for medications for opioid-use disorder.