The Northwest Regional Corrections Board met earlier this week at the Polk County Justice Center. Much of the board’s discussion was over per diem rates at the Red River Juvenile Detention Center (RRJDC) and a proposal to offer a new expanded and possibly extended contract to Mahnomen County at the Northwest Regional Correction Center (NWRCC).
According to Tri-County Community Corrections Executive Director Andrew Larson, the RRJDC has one of the lowest per diem rates in the state at $175 for non-secure and $190 for secure juveniles. Throughout the state, these rates vary greatly, ranging up to $300 or more charged to agencies contracting to hold juveniles in some facilities. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve made a concerted effort to slowly increase our rates so we’re more in-line with other facilities throughout the state,” said Larson. “At today’s meeting the board decided to make an increase of $10 a day on both sides of the facilities for non-member counties, the rate for member counties will not change.”
The board also discussed at length the expiring contract with Clay County for beds, or the number of guaranteed spaces for inmates, at the NWRCC. There is no current expiration date on that contract, however, it will conclude shortly after the completion of the new Joint Law Enforcement Center in Moorhead, which could be as early as September. Once complete the Joint Law Enforcement Center will have space for 188 inmates, up from the 90 inmates their current facilities hold. The current contract with Clay County is for 20 beds and generates almost $370,000 in revenue for Tri-County Corrections.
Mahnomen County, which doesn’t have a jail to house inmates, contracts out all their inmates to other facilities including a current contract for 12 beds at the NWRCC on a yearly contract. Today the board discussed a proposal from Larson to negotiate a new contract with Mahnomen County to possibly expand their contract in terms of beds and to enter a three-year contract rather than yearly. “I provided the board with a couple of different contract options, pretty similar to the model we use with Clay County,” Larson said. Larson will be presenting to the Mahnomen County board on Tuesday, September 18 to see if there is interest on their end in extending the current contract to 25 or 30 beds. Larson added, “One of the advantages for us, is that Mahnomen is part of the 9th Judicial District with Polk, Norman and Red Lake Counties so the same judges cover this larger area.”
The NWRCC, has in the past, also housed inmates from Pennington County. It is expected that Pennington County won’t have the same needs to get beds at the NWRCC soon, as they just completed their own new facility, the Pennington County Regional Justice Center, which tripled their number of beds to 94.
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