WORKING DRAFT — Road to Change Act
STATUS: WORKING DRAFT — NOT INTRODUCED LEGISLATION
This document is a public working draft prepared for discussion and review. It has not been introduced in the Montana Legislature and has not been reviewed by Montana Legislative Services Division. Language, statutory placement, fiscal notes, and implementation details remain subject to revision.
Road to Change Act
Purpose. A person committed to the Montana Department of Corrections should not lose weeks or months sitting in a county detention facility without access to programming solely because a DOC bed, placement, treatment slot, or transportation is unavailable.
Section 1. Short title.
This act may be cited as the “Road to Change Act.”
Section 2. Purpose.
The legislature finds that rehabilitation should begin as soon as reasonably possible following commitment to the Department of Corrections and should not be unnecessarily delayed because an individual remains temporarily housed in a county detention center awaiting placement, transportation, treatment, or bed availability.
Section 3. Programming while awaiting placement.
- When a person committed to the Department of Corrections remains housed in a county detention center for more than 14 days awaiting DOC placement, the department shall review the person’s eligibility for approved programming.
- To the extent practicable, an eligible person must be offered access to programming that may include substance-use treatment or recovery education; cognitive-behavioral programming; anger-management programming; educational coursework; employment-readiness programming; parenting or family-reunification programming; mental-health education; or other programs approved by the department.
- Programming may be delivered in person, electronically, through an approved community provider, through a county detention facility, or through another method approved by the department.
- Successful participation or completion must be documented in the person’s DOC record and, when substantially equivalent to a DOC-required program, may not be unnecessarily repeated solely because the programming was completed while the person remained in county detention.
- Nothing in this section requires a county detention center to provide a program that it cannot safely or reasonably accommodate.
Section 4. Agreements with counties.
DOC may enter cooperative agreements with counties and approved providers and may reimburse reasonable documented costs associated with approved programming.
Section 5. Reporting.
Beginning July 1 following implementation, DOC shall publish an annual report showing the number of DOC-committed individuals housed in county detention facilities awaiting placement; average and median wait time; number waiting more than 14, 30, 60, and 90 days; programs made available; participation and completion numbers; and estimated county housing costs associated with placement delays.
Editorial note: This proposal is intended to create a basis for legislative review, stakeholder feedback, fiscal analysis, and formal bill drafting.