STATE CAN'T BUILD ENOUGH CELLS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

Prisons are one of the fastest-growing sectors of Montana government.
The Department of Corrections continues to be overwhelmed by
increases in the number of convicts flooding the system, particularly
those who must be incarcerated because they have failed in repeated
attempts at probation and parole.

With the DOC asking for an additional, unbudgeted $11.5 million just
to maintain operations through June 30, Montanans are again reminded
of the vicious cycle of building more cells and directing more state
resources toward lawbreakers. The immediate budget crisis prompted
the DOC to postpone plans to build a prison of 256 beds that was
supposed to include space for 60 inmates with serious mental
illnesses and 100 beds for inmates with other serious health
problems. The prisons of Montana hold more people with mental
illnesses than the state's psychiatric hospitals.

To his credit, Corrections Director Bill Slaughter understands that
Montana can't resolve this problem by endlessly building prisons,
which is what the state has done for the past decade. At one time,
drug addiction counseling was cut to save money.

85 percent addictedThe DOC now recognizes that 85 percent of inmates
are addicted to alcohol or other substances. The department is
instituting more addiction treatment for inmates, attempting to
resolve an underlying problem that figures so prominently in
criminal conduct. Prison treatment boasts impressive success. The
Warm Springs program for felony DUI offenders, for example, reports
that 86 percent of its graduates haven't had a blot on their record
in three years after completing the six-month program.

Slaughter and Gov. Brian Schweitzer need to come up with more
alternatives to bigger prisons -- fast. There is a better way:
prevention, earlier intervention and community-based treatment.
Montana needs to put more effort into helping people with addiction
and mental health issues before they go to prison.

Community servicesIt's good that the state is treating people who
have committed four or more DUI offenses, but why wait until they've
racked up such a dangerous record? Yes, mental health care and
addiction treatment cost money, but consider the alternative Montana
is living with.

Montana must invest in community programs, such as drug treatment
courts, the HUB drop-in center for seriously mentally ill adults and
the crisis center being created in Billings. So far, the state of
Montana has provided little to no money for such innovative services.
(Schweitzer did authorize partial funding for the HUB as a
demonstration project last year.)

If Montana persists in putting so much of its resources into the
worst cases, it is doomed to forever put more money into the worst
cases. The Schweitzer administration should seize opportunities to
break this long-running, downward spiral and make a strong case for
changes in the 2007 Legislature.