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Dept. of Corrections proposing change in Youth Correctional Center population

The Department of Corrections is proposing a change at the Youth Correctional Center in Mandan.

The department is proposing to use part of it for a women’s minimum security facility.

"We have a couple of cottages there that are vacant right now," said  Corrections interim director Dave Krabbenhoft. "We think we can house 45 minimum custody women."

Krabbenhoft said the department will be able to provide some real intensive treatment and more services there that would be specifically appropriate for women.

"We had a study done by the Moss Group, that showed that we need to get women closer to where services are and where their families are," Krabbenhoft said. "This is a first step."

Earlier proposals were to close the Dakota Women's Correctional and Rehabiliation Center in New England. Krabbenhoft said for the next biennium, the New England facility will be operating normally. He says right now, there are no plans to close it.

"We're working hard with the administration at New England, to find ways to have them stay relevant to our mission," Krabbenhoft said. "That mission is providing service to the community, keeping people close to home, and providing services upstream, so we don't have to incarcerate people."

Krabbenhoft said the Department knows how hard it is to have professions in corrections in the western part of the state.

"We've got a lot of good people down in New England," Krabbenhoft said.

The proposal is in the Corrections budget bill. It has passed the House, and is pending in the Senate.

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