53-1-203. Powers and duties of department of corrections. (1) The department of corrections shall:
(a) adopt rules necessary to carry out the purposes of 41-5-527 through 41-5-529 and rules for the admission, custody, transfer, and release of persons in department programs except as otherwise provided by law. However, rules adopted by the department may not amend or alter the statutory powers and duties of the state board of pardons and parole.
(b) subject to the functions of the department of administration, lease or purchase lands for use by institutions and classify those lands to determine those that may be most profitably used for agricultural purposes, taking into consideration the needs of all institutions for the food products that can be grown or produced on the lands and the relative value of agricultural programs in the treatment or rehabilitation of the persons confined in the institutions;
(c) contract with private, nonprofit Montana corporations to establish and maintain community based prerelease centers for purposes of preparing inmates of the Montana state prison who are approaching parole eligibility or discharge for release into the community. The centers shall provide a less restrictive environment than the prison while maintaining adequate security. The centers must be operated in coordination with other department correctional programs, including the supervised release program provided for in Title 46, chapter 23, part 4. This subsection does not affect the department's authority to operate and maintain community based prerelease centers.
(d) utilize the staff and services of other state agencies and units of the Montana university system, within their respective statutory functions, to carry out its functions under this title;
(e) propose programs to the legislature to meet the projected long-range needs of institutions, including programs and facilities for the diagnosis, treatment, care, and aftercare of persons placed in institutions;
(f) encourage the establishment of programs at the local and institutional level for the rehabilitation and education of adult felony offenders;
(g) administer all state and federal funds allocated to the department for youth in need of supervision and delinquent youth, as defined in 41-5-103;
(h) collect and disseminate information relating to youth in need of supervision and delinquent youth;
(i) maintain adequate data on placements that it funds in order to keep the legislature properly informed of the specific information, by category, related to youth in need of supervision and delinquent youth in out-of-home care facilities;
(j) provide funding for and place youth who are alleged or adjudicated to be delinquent or in need of supervision and who are referred or committed to the department;
(k) administer youth correctional facilities;
(l) provide supervision, care, and control of youth released from a state youth correctional facility; and
(m) use to maximum efficiency the resources of state government in a coordinated effort to:
(i) provide for children in need of temporary protection or correctional services; and
(ii) coordinate and apply the principles of modern institutional administration to the institutions in the department.
(2) The department and a private, nonprofit Montana corporation may not enter into a contract under subsection (1)(c) for a period that exceeds 10 years. The provisions of 18-3-104 and 18-4-313 that limit the term of a contract do not apply to a contract authorized by subsection (1)(c).
(3) The department of corrections may enter into contracts with nonprofit corporations or associations or private organizations to provide substitute care for youth in need of supervision and delinquent youth in youth care facilities.
History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 199, L. 1965; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 320, L. 1967; amd. Sec. 33, Ch. 93, L. 1969; amd. Sec. 41, Ch. 120, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 43, Ch. 37, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 80-1405; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 4, Sp. L. 1982; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 262, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 316, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 395, Ch. 546, L. 1995.
