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NDOC seeks substance-abuse counselor and shifts commissary-funded positions to general fund
Summary
NDOC requested funding to add a substance-abuse counselor to oversee MAT/MOUD expansion, proposed travel and training funding for mental-health and substance-abuse staff, and requested transfers moving positions previously paid by commissary-generated funds into the general fund to improve transparency.
Emily Testwude, Deputy Director of Programs for NDOC, presented the Correctional Programs budget (account 3711) and described requests to support substance-abuse treatment, in-state travel for mental-health staff, translation services and staff training, and a series of position transfers out of the inmate welfare account into general-fund support.
Testwude said correctional programs encompass education, vocational training, reentry services, cognitive behavioral therapy and other substance-abuse and pro-social activities that contribute to reduced recidivism and safer institutions. For the 2025–27 biennium the department requested a substance-abuse counselor position (decision unit E263) to oversee Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) programming; the request transfers revenue from the Department of Health and Human Services director's office to NDOC budget account 3711 to support that position.
Testwude also described three position-transfer decision units (E901, E902, E903) that would move 16 positions in total from the inmate welfare account into correctional programs and fund them from the general fund. She said the transfers align with the 82nd Legislature’s request to move positions supported by offender and family purchases to general fund support to increase transparency of personnel costs that previously depended in part on commissary-derived revenue.
Assemblymember Mosca asked whether freeing commissary-funded positions would allow commissary markups or retained earnings to be returned to offenders through reduced prices; Adrian Monroe, Chief of Offender Services, said yes—if the positions are funded by general fund and retained earnings exceed six months of operating reserves, the department intends to solicit input from offender representatives and the Board of Prison Commissioners on how to allocate surplus funds to benefit offenders.
Testwude also described other requests: E301 for in‑state travel to support psychologist visits to remote facilities; E302 for increased translation/tele‑interpretation services; and E303 for staff training provided by UNR Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies (cost per session increased and the request funds seats for NDOC staff).
Ending: NDOC said the new counselor position would supervise LPNs placed for MAT implementation, that opioid-settlement funds have been identified to support program expansion, and that the agency will provide further operational details as MAT and training programs are implemented.
