[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6085778,"mediaKeyId","2902194-4611c201cd684019ebf8f99dec029483","parentId",2902194,"title","Department of Corrections presents transition-bed math, IT projects and a $5.6M first-phase request for a new client management system","audioSeconds",2683,"startMs",2796000,"endMs",5479000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2902194-4611c201cd684019ebf8f99dec029483&start=2796&end=5479","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2902194-4611c201cd684019ebf8f99dec029483/thumbnail_2796000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6085778/North-Dakota/Department-of-Corrections-presents-transition-bed-math-IT-projects-and-a-56M-first-phase-request-for-a-new-client-management-system","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6085778-ffb1cb66fafafa228ccb54eca1cb947e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771184027&Signature=f-OtxzJbLpu4UWkjZjo79vX8ZXeBzJNxt0Ujtsye8eHGH4XHDU4oHotVmKKr1IsETPhrxNtCv2uk4PzcKMl34kOUDItxcft8a7pK2PQVqG6l6tDLbXgNFLFMDoOG5t~MVli0xdVppj92rVjNGBgOzezQGX44HGBvryfiJwf7pDVWOWB0609mocMY2w4D8b~ZdxXyyo0dUSWN8TFYS5iJOZzQiZDdCF2~EbC3S70VL3-FTw-BSPFV2rbnuHjls2WZzQiUPzlTbD-EZZRCCgRpCO6-~lba~S7uK8C4nNFwheMSVH3B6MAoV0NXVIQE9L88JpWyevWgIO707mG11v844w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota Legislature","date","2025-04-08T00:00:00Z","article","Michelle Zander, Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Corrections, walked the House Appropriations Committee — Human Resources Division through a detailed spreadsheet showing how the department calculated costs for transitional facilities, county holds, deferred admissions, work release and jail beds and how those calculations change under different per-diem assumptions.

Zander said the department used the executive recommendation as a starting point, then subtracted known transition and county-hold expenses to calculate remaining funds available for men’s and women’s populations. She described estimates that included transitional-facility and county-hold per diems, a $21.8 million executive recommendation number for transition, and a $16 million figure for jail-related costs. Zander also identified requests for specific projects: a Man Camp request totaling $9.3 million, a Grand Forks request of $16 million, and staffing requests including 12.5 FTEs for the Man Camp and a variety of FTEs across other locations.

On information technology, department staff presented a package of ongoing and new IT projects. Amy (DOCR staff) summarized maintenance requests for the department’s Avatar medical modules, ConnectND hosting and server costs; enhancements to the department’s offender-facing dashboards (Recidivus); robotic process automation; DocStars document management updates; and maintenance of the current Elite offender-management system. The department also described plans to upgrade its NX medical software to the vendor’s current version and to maintain body scanners, body-worn cameras, and tasers where appropriate.

The largest IT request the committee considered was a phased replacement of the department’s client management system. The Department of Corrections requested $5,600,000 for phase one and said it planned an RFP process beginning in late summer for an implementation that would likely be modular (adult, juvenile, women, parole and probation). Jesse Wetsch, technical business partner from North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT), told members his office looked at five comparable state projects and found implementation costs ranging from $17 million to $37 million depending on scope and included functionality.

Wetsch said the projects consulted were fully state funded and that the department had not identified federal grants to cover the client management-system implementation. He described a planned three-day workshop to finalize an RFI and an anticipated August RFP release. The department expects to spend most or all of the phase-one request during the upcoming biennium on vendor selection, initial design and modular implementation planning.

Committee members asked whether existing systems could generate the program and placement data they’ve requested at the push of a button. Amy said current systems (Elite and DocStars) can provide many reports but that data quality and cross-location standardization require additional resources and fixes. Committee members expressed interest in better, shareable datasets that show how many days individuals spend in specific facilities and which programs residents have participated in while incarcerated.

Why it matters: The department’s spreadsheet informed legislators about how per-diem assumptions and new facilities affect the total pool of available funds and showed how IT modernization is linked to managing cases, tracking programming, and supporting operations across multiple sites. The client management system is a multi-million-dollar modernization effort that would change how the department tracks custody, programming and reentry services.

What the committee asked for next: Committee members thanked staff for the line-item transparency and asked the department to return with clarifications where requested, including a more explicit breakout of FTE duties, confirmation of federal grant possibilities for body cameras/vests, and clearer estimates for ongoing operational costs tied to new facilities. The department said it would provide the RFI timeline and further budget detail as requested.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Appropriations - Human Resources Division Apr 8, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","DOCR staff presented a line-by-line spreadsheet of transition, jail and reentry costs, staffing requests and IT priorities. The department requested $5.6 million for phase one of a multi-phase client management system; outside comparisons show total project costs typically run $17M–$37M depending on scope.","taxTitle","Appropriations - Human Resources Division, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28888,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6085782,"Appropriations committee caps PRTF therapeutic-leave payments at $500 per day; department to authorize days",2275,431000,2706000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2902194-4611c201cd684019ebf8f99dec029483&start=431&end=2706","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2902194-4611c201cd684019ebf8f99dec029483/thumbnail_431000.jpg","/articles/6085782/North-Dakota/Appropriations-committee-caps-PRTF-therapeutic-leave-payments-at-500-per-day-department-to-authorize-days","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6085782-635b45819e7950fd5deb761c1b577ead/orig.mp4?Expires=1771184027&Signature=UoVrV3inKWcoJs4JIFBYXOfJ1HGK-Mq7ZgFzgip0JUHMt~HE5AwtbS-trLjaYcj3m3PSPiKU3-jMafq5zK9f3UTD2lC8Wtf5lGWo-0XjAd~BLpx2W4W4XmsWv~fErugX3mvpy8dcvgrFOlB-I6L4j3nznVzs-uSNAz~99W424HTXPjoofnnMWecdMqvBnxLmi8-OTQY9v0VFKGNQbd0dTdBq3TsyyEURTXDuQVu7BuUsiweqrBcue5REs2D8suE9mCzR4ceIPZ3Enr1KgqWELOhZpzMpadXPQ4TsmdP4siKTpGdFYE~dzYp44-X-dDazIyikDtuUzyF~VbZ2-TLKiw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Appropriations Committee — Human Resources Division voted 6 to 2 to set a $500 daily payment for therapeutic leave days under Senate Bill 2,399 and directed the Department of Health and Human Services to authorize how many leave days a given individual may use.

The vote came after hours of committee questions about how Medicaid PRTF (psychiatric residential treatment facility) per diem rates are calculated and how paying for therapeutic leave days would affect facility reimbursement and the state fiscal note. Committee members discussed alternatives including a flat fee, a percentage of the Medicaid average, tiered rates tied to occupancy, or leaving the bill unchanged. Sarah Acre, Executive Director of the Division of Medical Services at the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, told the committee the fiscal note was drafted assuming the full Medicaid rate would be paid for therapeutic leave days under the bill as introduced.

The committee’s action reduces the fiscal exposure compared with paying full rates. Acre said the fiscal note for the 2025-27 biennium included roughly $1,000,053.69 in general funds and $2,774,653.00 in federal funds for the proposal and that the motion to set a $500 flat daily amount would cut the fiscal note by about $680,000 in the current estimate.

Why it matters: PRTFs provide inpatient psychiatric services for children and adolescents. The committee’s change affects how providers are reimbursed when a resident is temporarily away from the facility for family visits or therapeutic leave and therefore affects program costs, provider revenue, and the state general fund and Medicaid expenditures.

Committee debate focused on three main questions: whether the state should pay full Medicaid per diems for days when the child is not physically in the bed, how existing rate methodology accounts for occupancy and fixed costs, and whether a cap or authorization process should control use of therapeutic leave days. Representative Murphy highlighted rate disparities between providers; Sarah Acre explained that per diem rates reflect each facility’s reported costs and occupancy in the prior year. Representative Steeman proposed the $500 flat daily rate as an interim measure; Representative Murphy seconded the subsequent motion that combined the $500 cap with a requirement that the department authorize days for each individual.

Acre told the committee that paying full rates for leave days would increase costs relative to current practice and that the department did not include the proposal in the governor’s budget: “This is not in the governor’s budget,” she said. She also told members the department could return with a breakdown of which portions of provider rates are property and indirect costs and could model alternate percentages (for example, 75% or 50%) if the committee asked for that analysis.

The committee also discussed administrative controls as an alternative to a statutory cap. Acre recommended an authorization process—requiring facilities to request leave days for each child—so the department could review clinical appropriateness and family engagement rather than enact a hard statutory cap that would limit flexibility.

The committee recorded its roll call on the motion to set a $500 daily cap and authorize the department to administer the number of leave days per month: Chairman Nelson — Yes; Vice Chairman Stevens — Yes; Representative Anderson — No; Representative Berg — Yes; Representative Metzkog — Yes; Representative Murphy — Yes; Representative O’Brien — Yes; Representative Wagner — No. The motion passed 6 to 2.

What the committee directed next: the department was asked to draft statutory language to implement a $500 daily cap and an authorization process for leave days and to provide follow-up information if requested, including any recommended caps or percentage-based alternatives and data on how many therapeutic or hospital leave days have been used to date.

Budget and funding notes: Committee discussion identified that Medicaid pays the per diems and that the federal share is significant; committee members cited the fiscal-note figures Acre provided and a committee estimate that the $500 motion would reduce the fiscal exposure on the fiscal note by roughly $680,000. Acre said the fiscal note figure covers only the 18 months of the 2025-27 biennium used in that calculation and that the full 2027-29 biennium exposure would be larger.

Closing: The committee approved the $500-per-day approach as an interim, compromise measure and sent the bill forward with the committee’s recommendation and directive that department staff produce implementing language and additional analysis for the conference or full committee as needed.","The House Appropriations Committee — Human Resources Division voted 6-2 to set a $500 daily payment for therapeutic leave days from psychiatric residential treatment facilities and directed the Department of Health and Human Services to authorize the number of leave days per individual.","actionData","errors"]

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Department of Corrections presents transition-bed math, IT projects and a $5.6M first-phase request for a new client management system

Appropriations committee caps PRTF therapeutic-leave payments at $500 per day; department to authorize days